Misunderstandings
by Booktastic22
Summary: Annabeth has been roped into modeling and, at a shoot, meets a male model who affects her greatly. But on her return to camp, she meets another demigod named Percy. Her feelings have betrayed her and left her confused. Is what she knows what she wants? Or is it all just a misunderstanding? Percabeth. Slightly AU, gods but no prophecy or war. First fanfic please give it a chance!
1. Chapter 1

Misunderstandings

**Hi! So this is slightly AU, gods are real but I'm taking some artistic license and the Great Prophecy and war aren't happening.**

**Disclaimer: I think we all agree that it is much more likely that Rick Riordan is working on Blood of Olympus than fanfiction about his own characters, so yeah. I don't own anything familiar from PJO or possibly HoO, I only own the ideas from my head.**

Chapter One

Annabeth

I was done with dresses. I used to like them. I really did. But then my step-mother's friend had to come to brunch. And I had to be there to meet her. Susan, my stepmother, just thought I would _adore_ Penny and see the value of real friendship. What she didn't mention was that Penny was a modeling agent that just _loved _to look for new talent, even when said talent was not looking for her.

As you might guess, she offered me a modeling job. She couldn't have had worse timing. Earlier that morning, my dad and I had been talking about college, and our less-than-ideal financial situation. I really wanted to be an architect. It has been my life-long dream. My family supports that, but we really don't have the money to put me through the rigorous training that that field requires.

The worst part is my dad though. He wants me to be an architect so badly. He really loves me, his only little girl. I like that, as much as I say, "Dad, I'm not little any more. I'm sixteen." And it just kills him to not be able to give me the education I crave.

You see, I'm a daughter of Athena. The Greek goddess and all that. Yeah, she and all the other Olympians are real. Their power moves with western civilization, and right now that's in America. So the gods are here, influencing mortal affairs and having children. There's even a camp for these children, Camp Half-Blood for demigods in Long Island. I go there every summer.

Anyway, it kills my dad to have to deny me that education, knowing how much it means to me and how much he wants me to succeed. We were discussing scholarships and such, when Penny arrived and we had to pause our conversation. So, with that fresh in our minds, Penny offers me a well-paid job.

The morning had started out well enough though. The doorbell rang, and Susan ran to get it, throwing open the door.

"Oh, Penny! It is so good to see you!" she exclaimed. Soon she was engulfed in a hug from the lady outside. After they stepped in, we were all introduced.

"Annabeth, Bobby, Matthew, Frederick, this is Penny!" my step-mother gushed at us.

"Oh my, what a lovely family!" Penny responded. She was a slight, petite woman in a dress that showed off her curves and slightly wavy brown hair framing her heart-shaped face.

"It's nice to meet such a good friend of my wife's," my dad said, smiling and shaking Penny's hand. "I'm Frederick. Bobby, Matthew, say hello to our guest."

My twin brothers shuffled forward and greeted the lady, then shuffled back behind our dad. Penny then turned to me.

"And you must be Annabeth!" she smiled, but there was something more than friendliness. She was looking over me, appraising me, it seemed. "I have heard so much about you, darling! I can't wait to get to know you."

"I look forward to it too," I said back politely. "I also have heard about you." I smiled at her. She seemed nice enough. Except for that look she had, I could tell she meant well and really cared about my mom. Hey, when you've spent your whole life training to read people, you know things.

We then entered the living room, where Susan and I had set out snacks and drinks earlier. We sat down and talked. Susan and Penny were always in the center of the conversation, bringing anything said back to their college days. It was sweet, to see Susan having so much fun with her friend. I've had trouble with Susan in the past, even ran away when I was seven. But things were starting to get better, and the gods know I wasn't going to hold it against the woman for having good friends.

Finally we reached the career part of every adult conversation. Bobby and Matthew had retreated to the family room, but I didn't have the ten year-old excuse, even if I was ADHD. So I sat patiently, not really having anything to contribute as they talked about my dad's job. I perked up when the talking turned to Penny though. I was curious to see what she did for a living.

"So, Penny, how are things with your job?" Susan asked.

"Oh, busy as ever!" Penny laughed. "I've been handling some new recruits and am positively swamped with shoots!" My dad and I just nodded politely and smiled, not sure what she was talking about.

"Oh my! Frederick, honey, Annabeth, Penny is a modeling agent," my step-mom put in. "So silly of me! I should have mentioned that."

"Ah, right. Modeling," my dad responded, looking only slightly less bewildered. I held in a laugh.

"Yes, modeling," Penny went on, unperturbed by my dad's expression. "Really, it gets such a bad rep, but it's such a nice business! I mean, what girl doesn't like to be gorgeous and get paid for it?" She was so into it, but I had heard this spiel from all the Aphrodite girls.

"What kind of photo shoots to you do?" I asked, because I was genuinely curious and I wanted to be polite. I shouldn't have bothered. Penny pounced on me like my question was the mouse finally emerging from its hole and she was the cat.

"Oh, all sorts of things. Whatever my clients prefer. From ball gowns to swimsuits!" she hurriedly exclaimed back.

"How nice," I offered, a bit wary of her mannerisms.

"Oh yes. Have you ever given modeling a thought, Annabeth dear? I sure you would love it!" Penny pitched at me. I understood now. That's what she'd been after all along, the appraising looks and excited promoting. She wanted to recruit me.

"Oh, um, not really. I'm more into books, and well, school."

"How unfortunate. With your looks and natural beauty, you would fit into so many shoots! And make quite a bit of money, too," she continued, obviously not giving up. She was laying on the flattery and persuasiveness pretty thick, and I could see Susan agreeing.

"Oh yes, Annabeth!" she jumped in. "This could be so much fun! Imagine all the outfits, and you could maybe travel and meet some boys…"

"Slow down here," Dad cut in. Finally! Help! I pictured a sea battle, my reinforcement ships finally arriving to help defend against the enemy. "I don't know about this. What about school? And 'boys'? Really, Susan, Annabeth is only sixteen."

"And is right here," I spoke up, raising my hand. "Like I said, I'm not really into modeling, but thanks for the offer."

"Thank you," my dad said.

"Wait, sweetie," Susan directed at me. Wow. She must really want this, to call me sweetie. "Think about it. You would still be able to go to school. It could be a side job. Right, Penny?" Penny nodded in affirmation. "So," she continued, "this could be a great opportunity. Experience some new things, earn some money. You could save for college! And you could go to that expensive one you want to go to!"

"Is this true?" I asked Penny. Once again, she nodded. "So how much could I make per shoot?"

Penny listed a digit way higher than I expected. **(A/N: I have no idea how much modeling pays)** I gaped slightly, surprised.

"That doesn't take out agent and handling fees, but per full body shoot, which I could get you, that is about right." Penny informed us. It was tempting, but I still wasn't fully on board.

"So you're saying…" my dad could be seen doing some quick math. "With about 10 shoots, she could earn her way through college?" **(A/N: once again, no idea)**

"Yes, it's quite an opportunity."

I played myself a defeat song, my mental ship sinking into the water as I could see all three adults agree. Betrayal. I was surrounded. I would never make it out alive. But even though I tried to channel my inner John Paul Jones, as all three of my brunch companions turned to me, I raised my white flag and the mast of my ship sank under the surface.

**So, how was it? Please review & follow! Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome :) I would love feedback, this is my first fanfic so please tell me what you think!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to the viewers and followers! **

**Annie-bell: I love to see suggestions, so please go ahead. I have a lot of ideas but need to organize them, and your review really helped :)**

**Also, I have no experience with modeling. If someone wishes to enlighten me, go ahead. Anything about modeling in here is a medium for my story and a figment of my imagination. **

**Disclaimer: I'm still not Rick Riordan**

Chapter Two

Annabeth

I was seriously nervous about my first shoot. I mean, I've never wanted to be a model. What if I wasn't good enough? What if the other models laughed at my body?

"Shut it, Annabeth," I told myself. "You never really cared what people thought before. Why worry now?" I told myself that over and over again. It was my little mantra. _It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't ma-_

"We're here!" Penny sang from the front seat, instantly shutting off my self-confidence pep talk.

"Yay," I exclaimed weakly. Penny justed laughed.

"Honey, darling, I have never failed in my recruiting. I don't think you will be the first. Besides, all my other girls are very sweet."

I didn't fail to notice that she complemented herself in trying to comfort me. I had begun to notice that as I spent more time with Penny. She was as sweet as a dandelion, but as egocentric as a rose. _All the girls will probably be that way._

As I got out of the car, I couldn't help but gulp. Oh, what I would give to have Thalia here right now! Thalia is my best friend from Camp Half-Blood, a daughter of Zeus. She was very punk and a bit older than me, and I loved and admired how she didn't give a pickle what people thought of her, especially mortals. I was always more confident with her.

But she wasn't here. Once I told Thalia about my new career choice, she wished me luck as she nearly gagged. There was no way she would be caught dead anywhere _near_ a bunch of live Barbie's. Heck, here favorite shirt said "Death to Barbie."

Immersed in my thoughts, I entered the building we had parked in front of and walked through the lobby. A smiling receptionist broke me out of my thoughts, and as nervousness ate at my insides, my brain registered random architectural details. The fake corinthian columns were always added for class, but they did nothing for the actual structural support of the building. That was left to the beams running along the sides and ceiling of the edifice.

I numbly followed Penny through some large doors the receptionist pointed at, into a room about the size of a basketball court. I swear, Aphrodite had exploded in there.

Long, pink drapes were covering all the windows and mirrors were everywhere. Make-up was on every flat surface and sparkles littered the floor. Clothes racks were arranged by color against one wall and makeshift changing rooms were right next to them. What little space clothes and makeup didn't occupy, girls did. Couches from pink to white were spread apparently randomly across the room with groups of girls clustered around each one. More, older women were attending to the four girls-models- that sat in chairs, doing their hair and make-up. Men and women were coming in and out of doors on the far side of the room, where I could see camera flashes.

All in all, there were about fifteen girls and lots of activity. As soon as Penny entered, all the girls rushed to hug her and we were engulfed in designer perfume.

"Penny, it's so good to see you!" squealed one.

"Penny, you wouldn't believe the shoot I was just in!" exclaimed another.

"Penny, here,"'s and "Penny, there's,"'s slammed through my mind.

"Girls, girls! Enough!" laughed Penny, quieting them, but I could tell she enjoyed it. "Darlings, I saw most of you last Saturday! You couldn't have missed me that much."

Doe eyes and yes's filled my head as the assured her, yes, they had seen her, and yes, they did miss her.

"Oh, well. I missed you too!" she yelled into the horde. More squeals and another group hug followed, until finally all these hyper models backed away. Unfortunately, that meant they noticed me.

"This, girls, is Annabeth, my newest recruit! Say hi every one," Penny introduced me.

"HI!"

"Hey,"

"Nice to meet you."

I nodded to all of them, murmuring hi. They all dispersed after that, and I was left alone as Penny went off to be a manager. I was not completely alone, however.

One last girl was standing in front of me. She looked a bit younger than me, with darkish skin and gorgeous chocolate-colored hair. Her eyes changed colors constantly, like a kaleidoscope. She seemed of Native American descent and was honestly one of the most beautiful girls I'd seen. My mind flashed to Aphrodite, but I refused to let that cloud my judgment.

"Hi," She said.

"Hi. I'm Annabeth," I responded, shy all of the sudden. She giggled.

"I know. Penny just said so." I mentally smacked myself, but smiled again.

"Yeah. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all. I've never done modeling before."

"Don't be," she shrugged. "It's not hard. Just smile and pose. I'm Piper, by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

She smiled again, then linked my arm through hers, leading me further into the room.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get into modeling? No offense, but you don't seem the modeling type," she asked, then studied me a bit more. "You look more like a book and PJ's on the couch type of girl."

I laughed, surprised.

"That's exactly right! How did you guess?" I was really curious. she was spot on. She shrugged.

"Oh, I've always been good at reading people," she dismissed it. "So?" She looked at me, expectant, "How did you get into modeling?"  
"Oh, well, Penny's an old friend of my stepmom's, and she came over for brunch. She managed to convince both my stepmom and my dad that this was the perfect way for me to earn money for college."

Piper nodded sympathetically as we sat on a couch.

"So, what about you?" I asked back. "You don't seem like the modeling type either." She bit her lip, and I could tell it was a sore subject.

"You don't have to tell me," I said quickly.

"No, it's okay," she took a deep breath. "You seem like I can trust you." I was flattered that she thought that after only five minutes.

"Well," she began. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"Ok. So my dad is Tristan McLean." She lowered her voice and glanced around to make sure no one heard. They hadn't.

"Ok. Wait, really?!" I barely remembered to keep my voice down.

"Yeah. And he never really has time for me… So I stole. Well, not really stole, but asked people to give me stuff, and they did."

I wrapped an arm around her to comfort her, but something wriggled in my mind. Successfully asked people to give her stuff? Why did that ring a bell?

"Go on," I urged, seeing she had stopped.

"And well… the stuff had to get bigger, to get his attention." I nodded. It made sense. "So one day, I stole a car. I don't know why," she rushed on, blinking tears from her eyes. "He could have just bought me one, if I'd asked. But I did anyway, and his assistant Jane told him before I could. She convinced him what I needed was to work and learn the value of money. The only thing we agreed on was modeling." She grimaced at this. I squeezed her shoulders.

"And what did your mom say?" I asked. Bad question. A tear escaped her blinking and slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away.

"She left us." She tried to sound angry, but all I heard was sadness.

"I'm sorry," I soothed quietly.

"It's okay you, didn't know." After a second of silence, I looked back at her.  
"My mom left us too," I whispered. Now she put her arm around me. "Right when I was born. But not only that, my dad didn't want me. He remarried and didn't really care about me. I ran away when I was seven. I made some friends, they took me in."

"Oh, Annabeth, I'm so sorry," Piper tried to calm me.

"Why? It's not your fault, is it?" I laughed bitterly. The memories hurt too much. "We've made up, Susan is better now, so is my dad. We're a family again. But I can't just forget, can I? Seven. Most kids are attached to their parents at that age. I was disconnected. Alone. It wasn't until I was twelve that I went back. Five years from my family I can't get back. It took longer still to understand why my parents did that in the first place." I was crying. I could feel the tears running down my face.

"Shhh, Annabeth, it's okay," she comforted me, both arms hugging me now. Strangely, it felt true. It was okay. That was years ago, and I knew Athena had to leave me. My dad just didn't know what to do. He loved me now. I let Piper's voice wash over me, soothing me completely.

I thanked her and then we both walked over to one of the make-up stations to get "false-efied" as Piper jokingly called it. I laughed, and I knew I'd found a friend.

~o0o~

I was very glad for the comfort of a friend for the next part of the shoot. According to Piper, this was a small, not very important shoot for some inside pictures in a girl's magazine. We were made up in simple yet eye catching makeup and dressed in apparently "hip" clothing. I was surprised at the small amount of work done on us, especially hair, but Piper told me that since it was a large group, not much intense was going on.

The photographer was yelling directions at us as we posed, like which way to turn and to laugh or smile or make cute faces or what not. We had already been lined up in order and, to my delight, I was near Piper. We were constantly laughing at each other, making our smiles genuine.

After an outfit change, another round of pictures, and a water break, the photographer went on to smaller group shots. This got the girls excited. Apparently, smaller group shots were better, highlighted you more or something.

I hung back as selections were made, honestly having enough for one day. However, as all the girls left, Piper came back to get me and our, I quote, "clashing looks but friendly auras" made us ideal for the double shots. I swear we both groaned at that.

Penny did not share those feelings, though.

"Oh, darlings! How marvelous! Yes, yes, you both really do have quite a spark. Natural talent," she gushed at herself as she wandered away, leaving us at the mercy of Alfonso, the photographer.

"LAdies, it is time for the biggest part of this shoot!" he called to us. "We need you to act like best friends and look gorgeous for these pictures. Hair! Makeup! Wardrobe!" He wandered off, looking for the right supplies.

"Great. I've always wanted to be plastered on magazine pages." Piper said sarcastically.

"You've never been on a magazine before?" I asked, surprised. Someone like Piper surely would have been chosen for special pictures before.

"Only group shots," she grinned mischievously. "I have somewhat of a 'troublemaker' reputation in the modeling circles."

I laughed and we were whisked away for wardrobe changes, hair, and makeup.

**So Annabeth is getting emotional... But Piper is there to help! I always liked their friendship. And don't worry, Percy is coming soon!**  
**Thanks for reading! Please review and suggest, constructive criticism is welcome! =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here is chapter 3! Yay! Thanks to the follows, favorites, and people reading!**

**Artemis 34: Thanks so much! I'm not much into modeling either but the idea came to me, so yeah. Piper is in this chapter too! :)**

Chapter Three

Annabeth

Three more shoots later, modeling was boring. The same routine, smiles, bossy photographers and sweet but egocentric models. The highlights were when I had the same shooting schedule as Piper. We were becoming quite the pair, almost always in double's shots.

"I swear," Piper joked one day, "I never had this much attention till you came, Annabeth dear. You'll make me like all the other models for sure. I've been corrupted!" Piper put a hand on her forehead and sighed dramatically. I snorted and shoved her.

"Please," I retorted. "You'll always steal the light, no matter if I'm there or not." She laughed and we continued walking to the clothing racks.

After a particularly long day, Piper was in a bad mood.

"I am serious," she growled. "I could kill whoever invented modeling."

"Believe, if I could I would," I assured her, thinking of Aphrodite. "If only she would listen." Piper looked at me a bit strangely but shrugged it off and waved good-bye as she left.

* * *

For my fifth shoot, we went out into this big park and were modeling summer clothing. It was only spring, but fashion always has to be ready. Summer was approaching, though (only three more months!), and I was looking forward to camp. I also had a sneaking suspicion about Piper and I wanted to talk to Thalia about her.

Well, for this shoot, we were collaborating with another agency who, opposite of Penny, specialized in boys. There was a lot of looking in mirrors and adjusting hair before the boys arrived. Piper and I were the only apparently sane ones left, but Piper couldn't help but be a bit excited. I knew I was too, though I would never admit it.

When all the girls were dressed in cute sun dresses or shirts and shorts, and people were adjusting sandal straps, hats, and sunglasses, the boys arrived.

"Damn, they're fine," Piper muttered at me. I giggled and tried not to laugh out loud at all the girls checking out the guys and trying to be inconspicuous about it.

Some of the guys noticed the stares and either smirked or smiled, depending on their personalities. I quickly averted my eyes.

Soon all the equipment was set up, props were out, and the boys were in their outfits. With all guys, there was an equal ratio of girls to guys, and Penny and the boy's managers, Sue and Damian, set about introducing people. Piper already had to fend off several pick up lines.

The photographers started placing groups and couples in different places in the meadow we were shooting in. I noticed they kept well away from the shadows cast by the trees surrounding the meadow, but also had the groups looking naturally spread out.

I was placed in a group with four guys and three other girls. We were supposed to be lounging around a picnic blanket, eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade. Of course, Penny pointed out, we weren't actually going to eat the food. No, that would ruin our make-up. And the sandwiches looked so good too.

"So," I started awkwardly, "we really can't eat these sandwiches?" Two of the guys laughed and I felt my face flush. Then someone came to my defense.

"She has a point, guys," this boy said. "The sandwiches really look delicious." This just made the two boys laugh harder and I scrutinized my so-called defender to see if he was just making fun of me.

This guy looked pretty tall, but we were sitting down, so I couldn't really tell. He had short, black hair and tanned skin. He was muscular, but so were all the guy models here, and he had a strong jaw. He was very relaxed and seemed carefree, almost like a troublemaker. His outfit was a bit more ruffled than the other guys'. However, I couldn't tell his intentions. You know the saying "The eyes are the window to the soul"? Well, all the guys here were wearing sunglasses as part of the shoot, and I couldn't see his eyes.

I was unsure, so I stayed silent. Luckily, the boy noticed and straightened a bit from his lounging position.

"I'm serious," he said earnestly. "Sandwiches are my favorite food. Besides blue things." All the girls looked at him weirdly, but all the guys started cracking up.

"We call him Blue," said one guy. "He loves blue food. If it can be blue, he wants it blue."

"He also has an irrational obsession with the ocean," the second boy contributed.

"It's not irrational," Blue mumbled.

"Yeah right!" All the guys laughed, and the girls soon joined in.

I was surprised by camera flashes. I'd forgotten we were in a shoot. I just felt so relaxed. I knew that was what the photographers craved, too. Genuine feelings in fake situations. All of the models around me stiffened too, as if they'd felt just as at ease as me.

We laughed and talked more, never really introducing ourselves, just talking. It was peaceful.

* * *

The trouble came at break. Guys and gals were mingling, sipping water and, in some cases, flirting. I'd slipped away from the main group to stand in the shade of the trees. That's when I heard a growl.

Automatically, I reached to the small of my back were my celestial bronze knife was cleverly concealed. I drew it and calmly set my water cup down as I turned around.

Two glowing red eyes stared back at me.

They focused on my blade and the growl deepened. I knew I had to lead the monster, probably a hellhound, away. I took a glance around, saw nobody, then casually started walking to my left. I could feel the monster's eyes on me.

When I felt far enough away from the hellhound, I entered the forest, stealth as a jungle cat. I was then struck with an idea. Aren't cats chased by dogs? So why wouldn't a hellhound chase a girl?

So instead of taunting the monstrous dog to follow me, I simply made eye contact with it, and sprinted away.

I could here the hellhound behind me and glanced back to make sure I was being followed. I was. I whipped my head around in time to narrowly avoid a tree, leap over a bush, and duck under a branch. I started blessing all the wardrobe people who had put me in flats, denim shorts and a flowy shirt instead of a dress and sandals, like Piper.

I cursed my sunglasses, though, wishing I had thought to take them off. They were great for the sunny meadow but horrible for the dark woods. I also knew that the hair lady had meticulously gathered my hair up then pinned my sunglasses to my hair, sealing it all with enough hairspray to create its own hole in the ozone layer. This meant that I would lose valuable time taking them off, as they would be hard to get off. With my luck, I would probably also stab myself in the eye with the glasses if I tried to take them off.

Once I deemed we were far enough from the shoot, I readied myself to turn around and face the hellhound. I scanned the ground so I wouldn't trip and did an about face. Unluckily, I must've missed something because my foot caught and I went flying backwards, breaking through a bush and falling into a clearing. My knife had fallen somewhere when I tripped, probably closer to the hellhound than to me.

My brain scrambled for a plan, my eyes darting around for anything useful. My eyes were overloaded from the light but I managed to grab a branch, readying myself for the fight to come.

**Oooh, a bit of a cliffhanger! I really wanted to do that. Chapter 4 will come soon though, along with a certain person named after a color...**

**Thanks for reading! Please review with any kind of feedback! =D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Many thanks to all the viewers and reviewers, followers, and favorites!**

**Artemis34: Thank you! More naming to come, camp will follow soon!**

**theawesome1: Thanks!**

Chapter Four

Annabeth

I slowly adjusted my body, ready to jump up or run. I waited and waited for what seemed like hours, but no hellhound appeared. I slowly got up, still clutching the stick tightly.

"Afraid of the trees?" a voice called from behind me. I whirled around and lunged, pointing the stick at where an average human's throat would be.

"Woah, woah, I'm sorry," the person said anxiously. "Trees can be, ah, formidable opponents?"

He was nervous, intimidated by my stance and speed. I quickly lowered my weapon, I mean, my, uh, stick, and stared at him. I recognized him, but he was wearing sunglasses too and I couldn't see his eyes.

"I'm sorry too," I apologized. "You startled me."

"Obviously," he snorted.

"Do I know you?" I really wanted to know; I hated not knowing.

"Um, maybe? I'm Per-Peter Johnson, but my friends call me Blue."

"Oh! Yes, yes, I was in your group for the photo shoot."

"Oh right! You wanted to eat the sandwiches," he connected, his face lighting up at his remembrance.

I laughed, but internally wondered at what he said. How could you hesitate and mess up on your own name?

"So?" he asked, "Are you afraid of trees?"

"No," I started, quickly coming up with a cover story. "There was a dog." Not a complete lie. "And it looked really scary," True. "And I have a fear of dogs," Okay, so not true. I love dogs. "So I ran away from the dog but I tripped." Partly true. All in all, a great story. The secret to a good lie is to have some truth in it.

"Ok," he chuckled. "Completely understandable."

"Thank you." I grinned at him, and he grinned back. I stared at him, admiring his nice smile, straight white teeth and tan skin, and how good he looked in his sunglasses. I absently wondered what he was doing here, but then he cleared his throat and I realized I had been staring.

I quickly snapped out of it and fought the blush I knew was creeping up my face.

"I better, um, go and see if the dog is gone," I mumbled. Really I needed to get my dagger and kill the beast.

"I'll come with you. I can't let a monster hurt a fair maiden like yourself," Peter offered.

"Oh no, really, it's ok," I replied hurriedly. I had to kill the hellhound!

"One would think you didn't like me," he joked, pretending to look hurt. I flushed a his attitude.

"It's not that. I'm just not a damsel in distress, nor are you a knight in shining armor. It's a dog, not a dragon." If only he knew how well I could take care of myself. I'd show him a few things.

He quickly backpedaled though.

"I'm sorry, you're right. You would be fine. But can I walk you back?"

"Why does it matter?" I asked, confused. I was supposed to be killing a monster, not talking to some guy! The guy in question was quite attractive though…

He rubbed his hand over his short hair and sighed.

"Look, I was trying to be smooth about it, but you aren't making this easy for me."

I frowned, unsure where he was going. All I knew was that he couldn't witness me killing what he would think was a dog because of the Mist.

"My point is," he continued, "well, you're really pretty and seem sweet and more real than the other girls here and I'd like to spend more time with you, ok?" He rushed this all out and then stared at me. I stared back, dumbstruck.

"Oh. Um, ok," I answered, feeling like a fool. How did I not realize? And how would I get my knife back?

"Ok," he replied, looking quite relieved.

"Oh gosh, is that the dog?!" I yelled and as he turned to look, I grabbed my shoe and threw it behind me. Hope he won't notice. Then I clutched Blue's arm in mock fear. I did it for the sake of the show. There was no way I was enjoying it what-so-ever.

"I don't see anything," he said, sounding confused.

"Are you sure?" I squeaked. Squeaked? Man, I was good. "I thought I saw it!"

"Don't worry," he chuckled, turning towards me. "It won't hurt you."

"Ok," I said, reluctantly letting go of his arm. Wait, what? I wasn't reluctant. "I just have to go find my shoe. It fell off when I was running."

He looked down at my foot, brow furrowed. "Okay then."

"Yeah, I'll be right back." With that I hobbled away from him. Once screened by the trees, I searched for my shoe, found it, put it on then called back to Blue.

"I haven't found it yet, oh wait, I think I see it!"

"Ok, no worries," he called back in that deep and attractive voice.

I quickly searched for my dagger in the underbrush. Upon finding it, I stood in a vulnerable place and hoped the hellhound would hear what Blue would not.

"Hey, puppy. You're so cute, y'know? Truly adorable." A growl sounded behind me and I spun, thrusting my knife out and hitting the hellhound in the chest. It yelped in surprised then faded to dust. I cleaned my knife off then returned it to its hiding place. Easy.

I then returned to Blue.

"Found it," I said, walking over to him.

"Great," he replied, grinning in relief. I asked what then struck my mind.  
"You didn't think I would have ditched you, right?" He looked at me in shock then shook his head.

"N-no…" I laughed then looped my arm through his as we walked back to the shoot.

* * *

"Oh my god," Piper squealed at me. "You should totally have given him your phone number!"

We were walking back to the bus that would take us back to the main modeling building of the agency. I had told Piper about my meeting with Peter Johnson, aka Blue.

"Uh, Piper, I just met him. I didn't give him my name, much less my phone number," I replied uneasily.

"No," Piper gasped then turned to me. "You didn't even tell him your name?!"

"No," I shrugged. "We were having so much fun talking, why would I interrupt?"

"Oh my god! It's like Cinderella! A mysterious meeting, then leaving with no contact," she sighed. I snorted, thinking about what I had done to my shoe.

"Well, we aren't in some Disney movie. Besides, he nicknamed me. I didn't need to tell him my name."

Truth was, I was uneasy. I wasn't a flirt and I'd only had one boyfriend. I didn't want to mess up with Blue, so I just responded to what he gave me. I didn't offer much.

"A nickname?!" Piper squealed again. I glared at her. She then breathed deeply. "I'm sorry. I don't normally get like this. I hate girly girls. I just get all excited about love though!"

Yep, definitely daughter of Aphrodite. I'll have to figure out a way to get her to camp…

"But a nickname?" she exclaimed again. "That means he's into you! What is the name?" I blushed furiously.

"It's Sandwich Girl," I muttered.

"Wait, what?"

"We met first when I asked about eating sandwiches, so he called me Sandwich Girl."

"You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. That is the most adorable thing! That means that he's happy he met you, to give you a nickname about your meeting."

"Oh." It made sense.

"Next shoot we do with these boys, I am making you give him your number."

"Fine," I grumbled, only faking being about unhappy about it as we climbed into the bus.

* * *

**And Annabeth's plan! Spur of the moment thinking, really ;)**

**So, what did you think of using Piper to convey the last part of Annabeth's time with Blue? Was it weird? I wanted to change it up a bit. **

**Spring Break is now over, so I won't be able to update quite as frequently. I'll try though. Next chapter is Annabeth at Camp Half-Blood!**

**So, yeah! Thanks for reading! Please review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you soooooo much to my reviewers and followers! Woohoo! 7! Okay, that sounds kind of pathetic, but I'm just soo glad at the positive response I'm getting.**

**Also, sorry for any confusion. The hellhound Annabeth killed was not Mrs. O'Leary. I would never kill Mrs. O'Leary! Also, you'll see another reason in this chapter.**

Chapter Five

Annabeth

"Finally! Summer!" I yelled into my phone as I flopped onto my bed, my backpack and shoes long forgotten.

"Ahh Annie," Thalia replied over the phone. "You hear that sound? Smell that scent? Do you?"

"No, I hear the scent and smell the sound," I answered sarcastically. I swear I could hear Thalia roll her eyes.

"Well, do you?" she demanded. I sighed.

"Yes, Thalia, I do."

"Do you know what it is?"

"No, Thalia, I don't," I responded again, playing along.

"It is the scent and sound of freedom! No school for almost three months!"

"Oh gee, I hadn't noticed," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. I had no reason to be bitter, but I was because Thalia was already at camp, and her happy voice reminded me that I wasn't. My school ended later and I had to miss the beginning of camp. She was smelling this "freedom" from the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood. I was smelling it from my room overlooking the city.

See, camp was like a second home to me. After I'd run away, the friends I'd met were Thalia and Luke. Luke was a son of Hermes and was now in college in Oregon. Thalia stayed at camp year-round, once in a while leaving on trips. When we'd arrived in camp, the activities director, Chiron, had become a second father to me and even when I stopped going to camp year-round I was still very close to him. To miss any time at camp was a bummer, and it just made me jealous of Thalia that she was there without me.

"Annie, tsk tsk," Thalia continued. "You should be happy for your best friend. We can't all be enjoying school like you."

"First, don't call me Annie. Second, maybe you're not my best friend anymore. Second, part B, your decreased social status could be from calling me Annie. Third, you would enjoy school more if you tried harder, consequently achieving better grades." I growled at her, slamming her with logic.

"First, I'll call you Annie as much as I want. Second, please, I know I'm still your best friend. Second part B, relating back to my first point, I'll call you Annie as much as I want, regardless. Third, I don't think school is teaching me usefull things, consequently losing my interest, failing to conquer my time and care. Third part B, I joined debate team this year." I could hear her grinning at this last part.

"Wow, Thalia, congratulations! I'm so glad to see you climbed down from your tree to join school," I responded, but my tone was mocking, and Thalia heard it.

"Whatever, Annie. I'm still close enough to my tree to through a pine cone at you."

"Sure. So anyway, how's camp?" I changed the subject, happy I had riled her up, if only slightly.

"Eh, same," she shrugged through her voice (Hey, you know what I mean). "Oh! Grover brought another boy in today. Pretty powerful, maybe big three?" I was instantly intrigued. Who? I mean, son of who?

"Really?" I asked, knowing and not really caring if I sounded eager. "He's not claimed yet? How old is he?"

"Yeah, undetermined," she sighed. "And he's your age, sixteen." That shocked me. For some reason I had imagined a younger boy, maybe thirteen.

"Sixteen?" I choked out. "And Big Three? How could he have survived? I mean, Grover wasn't there the whole time, was he?"

"I don't know," Thalia admitted. "I have no idea how the monsters didn't track him. Hopefully his parent will claim him soon, maybe after capture the flag."

"Oh wait! I should get there in time for that! I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

"You're so predictable. Never can be away from camp, can you, Annie?"

"Of course not," I said sweetly. "I have to go. Oh, and Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"Say hi to your new cousin for me." I hung up, trying and not succeeding to hold in the laughter that came with the mental picture of Thalia's paling face.

* * *

I arrived at camp in time for dinner. I quickly stowed my trunk by my bed in the Athena cabin then hurried to the dining pavilion. I sat down next to my half-brother Malcolm and was greeted by the rest of my siblings.

I filled my plate with food, offered a sacrifice, then began to eat. Ahh, I loved camp. I looked around, taking in all the familiar sights: Chiron and Mr. D at their table, Thalia sitting with Grover at the Zeus table, the violent-even-at-dinner Ares cabin, and all the other tables. I glanced at the Aphrodite table, thinking how I had convinced Piper to visit me at camp. Hopefully she would be claimed and train here.

My eyes finally landed on the ever-full Hermes table. My eyes were caught by an unruly mob of black hair on a well-muscled guy who looked about my age. He must be the new kid Thalia told me about.

I mentally nodded, satisfied that I now knew who the newbie was. I'd have to ask Thalia more about him later. Heck, I didn't even know his name!

I then turned my attention back to my dinner and my siblings, extremely content to be back at camp.

* * *

The next day, I went with my cabin for sword training in the arena. It was Thursday, and this was our schedule. I had quickly taken back command of the cabin as head counselor and Malcolm had been fine with allowing me to take control. This meant that we stuck to the schedule.

The Zeus cabin joined us, but Thalia was the only member, so really just Thalia joined us. When we got there, we quickly paired off to spar while some of the older kids taught the younger ones. I decided to go against Thalia, as usual.

We were quite a pair; she fought with a spear and I fought with a knife. However, we both fought well enough that the weapon difference didn't faze us. Instead, we launched right into the battle.

Thalia started attacking, as usual. She jabbed at my side and I dodged slightly, slashing at her arm as it passed by my side. She angled the butt of her spear to deflect the strike then danced out of my range.

We circled, wary. I knew up close I had the advantage because I could maneuver the dagger in small spaces and find weaknesses in her armor. However, Thalia's spear had a larger reach and could keep me from getting close.

She jabbed again but I knocked it away with my blade. Pulling back, we began to circle again. I was vaguely aware of some of my siblings watching us, but that was the usual. Both of us had been training for nine years; we were good.

"Are we allowed to use hand to hand techniques?" Thalia threw at me. I narrowed my eyes.

"If you can. Why not go all out our first duel?" I challenged. She laughed, and then lunged for a third time. This time, though, I shot out my left hand and grabbed her spear shaft as I dodged. I tried to pull her off balance but she changed her stance and twirled the spear to dislodge my hand. I let her, spinning under the shaft and using my hold to pull her a bit closer before my hand was forced into a position where I had to let go.

Now up close to her, I darted my knife in direction of the hand holding her spear but she moved it down. Analyzing the possible routes for her spear as it moved down, I quickly jumped up and narrowly avoided the sweep she used to try to knock me off my feet.

I stabbed toward her neck; she blocked me. She jabbed back at my neck; I ducked under and brought my knife back to her arm. She swept her spear down, knocking my knife away.

We continued this way for a minute, neither one of us gaining the upper hand. We were both starting to breathe heavily and I was getting impatient. I feigned to her left then stabbed toward the small crevice in her chest armor. Her spear came up to block me, lying diagonally across her body. She placed both hands on the shaft and pushed hard. I braced my arms, both hands on my dagger hilt now. I began to think of a plan. I knew Thalia would be able to beat me with strength and I needed to find a way to win before she forced me to the ground.

Thalia's eyes flashed for a millisecond to something behind me and that was all the distraction I needed. I loosened my resistance to her push, making the space between her body and her spear grow. I ducked to the left and under the spear and maneuvered right in close, as though she were hugging me with her spear.

Her face registered surprise right as I held my dagger to her throat. She then glowered but soon laughed.

"I surrender! Nice one, Annie!" she said, releasing me from her spear. "I've gotta admit, I did not see that one coming." I laughed.

"That's because you looked behind me. Daughter of Athena, Thalia. I always have a plan," I responded smugly. She laughed again, heading to a bench with our water bottles.

"You're right. I was looking behind you because we've gathered quite an audience."

I looked around, surprised. All the Athena campers had stopped training to observe us, and it looked like the Hermes cabin had come to watch too. I smiled at them all then walked with Thalia to the water. I remembered distractedly that Hermes had training after us. They must have come early.

"Huh. I hadn't realized the Hermes cabin was watching," I commented as Thalia chugged her water.

"I know," she replied, finishing her gulping. "I just noticed, but what caught my attention was my potential cousin."

"He's here?" I asked, surprised. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Duh, he's in the Hermes cabin till he's claimed. He was watching us." She glanced over her shoulder. "Still is actually. You should go introduce yourself."

"What? No! I'm tired and sweaty and I need water," I protested, quickly grabbing my water bottle and opening it.

"Oh, is Annie embarrassed?" Thalia taunted. "Modeling has changed you." I nearly choked on my water and spluttered at her.

"W-w-what?" She laughed at me.

"Annie, it's ok. I can understand how embarrassed you would be to meet a new guy wearing a camp T-shirt and shorts." She nodded sympathetically.

"Excuse me?" My eyes flashed and I straightened. Thalia was playing with me, I knew, but I had my pride and I couldn't let her say those things.

"Really, Annabeth, it's okay. You don't have to get riled up." She was trying not to laugh. I let out one last 'humph' before I marched over to the audience, sheathing my dagger and holding my water bottle.

The Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis, were sneaking up on Malcolm, probably trying to pull some prank. I marched over to them and said really loudly,

"Hey Connor, Travis, miss me?" Malcolm whipped around and narrowed his eyes at the Stolls. I smirked as they glared at me.

"Yeah, tons, Annie," Travis muttered.

"What did you just call me?"

"Annabeth, I mean Annabeth!" Travis stuttered. Connor dragged him away with a last smile toward me. I smiled satisfactorily, and then turned back to the dispersing crowd.

My smile almost faltered when I saw the new guy looking at me. He glanced down when he met my eyes. He was tall, tan, and still had as messy of hair as when I saw him last night at dinner.

I gulped and marched right up to him.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth." He looked startled to see me but quickly recovered and smiled shyly.

"I'm Percy."

"So, you're new?" I asked, leaning against the fence next to him. He nodded.

"I got here Monday. I didn't see you though."

"No, I just got here yesterday, school didn't end as early as I would have liked."

"Oh. But you've been here before?"

"Yes. Must demigods make their way here around twelve years old."

"I didn't," he blurted out.

"I hadn't noticed," I remarked, rolling my eyes.

"Hey! This is still kinda new to me," Percy protested.

"What is? Stating the obvious or being a demigod?"

"Being a demigod."

"Right, because stating the obvious, as you just did, relates to being a demigod," I teased him.

"Yes, it does."

"Fine then. So, you have your training now?"

"What?" He looked at me, completely clueless. _He has such green eyes, like the sea_. I felt myself drowning in the color. I blinked, trying to clear my mind. I covered being flustered by being annoyed.

"Weapons training?" I gestured behind me at the arena. "Or did you just come to watch me?"

"What? No! I came to practice!" he hurried over to the weapons rack and tested a sword.

"Swordsman, are we?" I asked, leisurely making my way over to him.

"Yeah, but I can't get a well-balanced blade," he muttered, distracted by testing the sword weights.

"Well, you'll find one. These are just practice blades, there are more in the armory." I shrugged.

"How do you know?" he asked, frowning at me. "Don't you use a knife?"

"Yeah, I do," I responded, annoyed. "But I'm trained to use a sword too. I've been training for years. Plus, they have knives in the armory."

"Oh. Ok." He turned back to the swords, but I noticed that he looked sheepish.

"So, I'll see you around?" He turned back to me and gave me a smile. My stomach fluttered, but I told myself it was just dehydration. I looked into his green eyes and smiled back.

"Yeah, see you." And with that, I left the arena.

* * *

**Yeah! Go Percabeth! So, thanks for reading! I'm glad I could update this soon :P **

**Please Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Annabeth

I really wanted to see Percy. It had been a day since the arena meeting, and despite what we said, we hadn't 'seen each other around.' I was too cowardly, I guess. My bold attitude apparently only presented itself because I was defending my pride. It didn't help that Percy didn't make a move to talk to me either. Well, I might not have given him a chance.

I hung out with Thalia during my free time because I missed her. It was _not_ partly because I was avoiding Percy. And at meals I sat at the Athena table, obviously, like now at breakfast. He sat at the Hermes table, obviously. He still hadn't been claimed.

But tonight was capture the flag. The Athena cabin had made an alliance with the Apollo, Zeus, and, most importantly, Hermes cabins. The opposition had Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. I was determined to talk to Percy tonight. Maybe sooner, if possible.

That possibility arose. I was walking to my cabin to get a book when I saw Percy walking across the grass area inside the cabins. Steeling myself, I walked up to him.

"Hey," I greeted him. He looked surprised to see me.

"Hi Annabeth," he replied. Did he sound happy? I hope he did.

"So, you ready for capture the flag tonight?" Anything to make conversation.

"Oh, yeah. Um," he rubbed the back of his head. "How exactly do you play?" I laughed.

"Well, it's just like regular capture the flag, but instead of tagging people out, you play defense and offense with real weapons and magic items."

"Ok. Magic items? Do I get any?" He seemed excited, but I couldn't forget that he was in the god of thieves' cabin. My hand flew to my back pocket where I kept my magical invisibility hat. I felt the lump of my hat. Phew, it was still there.

"No, I don't have magical items for you. You'd have to get one from a store or your godly parent." He cringed, and I regretted what I said. He still didn't know who his godly parental unit was.

"Oh. Ok. Look, I should go, I'll see you tonight, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck again, looking tense.

"Ok, I guess I'll see you," I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. As he started to walk away, I called him back. "Wait, Percy!" He turned around, looking at me expectantly, but slightly wary too. "I'm sorry," I continued softly. "I think I know how you feel."

He turned fully around, eyes blazing. The change was so sudden it was slightly scary.

"'Know how I feel'?" he started. "How could you? At least you know who both your parents are. You weren't left with a horrible step-father, or now know that some godly being _willingly_ left your parent at the mercy of some jerk. You probably would never run away from your family, only to need to return to find your step-dad hitting your own mother. You probably understand how some god could leave their family. Hm? Don't you?" He looked at me, still angry, but the fire inside him was dying.

I started to feel angry. He probably needed to vent, but why did he have to yell at me? There was no reason. I opened my mouth to yell back, but fell silent. A little image of a seven year old me popped into my mind.

_"How could you? I thought you were my new family, but you will probably leave me like my other parents. You'll leave me even though you know that I need you, that I trusted you, that I could never leave you." I was hysterical. I was distraught that Thalia was hurt and that Luke had suggested hiding me while he took her to a place to stitch her up. He didn't want me to go. It was because they wanted to ditch me, I was sure. _

_ "No, no, Annabeth! That's not it at all!" Luke tried to console me. "We would never leave you. We were trying to protect you!"_

_ "No, there you go. You're making excuses to make me think you care about me. Just like Daddy and Susan." I was crying now, backing away from Luke and Thalia, my once-family. _Just like I backed away from my real family,_ I thought. _

_ "No, Annabeth, don't go! We need you, we _do_ care about you!" Thalia insisted._

_ "Well, fine then. But who will be the first to leave? You or Luke? One of you will leave. Leave us alone. Leave me to the spiders." I was focused on Thalia, but I still noticed Luke backing into the trees to the side of our make-shift camp. _

_ "See! There he goes! Leaving us behind!" I screeched, pointing at Luke. The look on Thalia's face was utter dismay and disbelief._

_ "Luke, where are you going?" Thalia cried. She tried to get up, but her injured leg prevented her. No. This couldn't actually be happening. I thought Luke would stay with me forever. He promised. I turned, running into the woods, sobbing. I was suddenly caught up in arms. _

_ I kicked and screamed, trying to get away, to get to my dagger. It was no good. My enemy was the strongest in the world, strong like Luke. Luke. I sniffed again._

_ "Shh, Annie, it's ok. I'd never leave you. I promised," the enemy's voice was Luke's. I sobbed harder. Luke was my enemy now, wasn't he? He abandoned my like my real mommy. _

_ "Sh, Annabeth. You're my family. I'll never give up on family. Ever," the voice _was_ Luke's. I turned my head and caught sight of him. I gasped, then snuggled closer, still crying. He and Thalia the put me in my sleeping bag. Before they left, though, I grabbed their shirts. _

_ "Don't ever leave me," I whispered. "Promise me."_

_ "I'll never leave you, Annabeth," Luke whispered._

_ "Neither will I," Thalia added. _

_ "We promise," they swore together._

~o0o~

Thalia and Luke didn't deserve to be yelled at. They weren't actually going to leave me. And while my seven year old self didn't make a whole lot of sense, at the core I was feeling what Percy was feeling. Betrayed, abandoned, alone.

So I didn't yell at him.

"Percy, you're not alone," I started softly. "I didn't know my mother was Athena until I was eight. My dad didn't want to raise me. He asked Athena to raise me on Olympus. My dad remarried to a woman who blamed me for endangering her children. She wouldn't believe me when I said that spiders attacked me, or that the monsters tried to kill me. I ran away when I was seven." I paused, letting that sink in. "I never returned, not once. They never asked me to. Was there abuse? No. But they didn't want me. They were happy alone with their new family. I didn't even go home once until I was twelve. Ran away again after that. I went back though. I will never give up on family. Ever."

Percy stared at me, mouth slightly open. I wasn't done though. "So don't you ever give up. Never. Gods are not the best parents. But they're still our parents. We're all related somehow. All of us here." I gestured around at the cabins. "All of our parents were left alone at some point. But we've never given up. We're still a family. So don't you ever give up on family. Ever."

**A/N: Thank you so much to all your wonderful reviews! 11! Yeah! Your support and feedback really made my heart soar. Thanks for suggestions. **

**I'm sorry, too, because I wanted to update sooner but I'm kind of having a writer's block for this part of the story. It needs to happen, but I'm not super inspired to write it. **

**Also, I hope you like my reason why Luke never became a traitor. Quite emotional and spur of the moment, again. **

**So thank you soooooooooooooo much! Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:****I DO NOT own PJO or HOO. They belong to Rick Riordan, who recently revealed the cover of ****_Blood of Olympus._**** Yay!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Annabeth

Percy didn't say anything for a minute. He just stared and stared at me. I stared back. I decided that if he didn't say anything soon I would walk away. I was expecting him to yell at me again, or laugh at me, or call me a liar. I mean, he was obviously rattled about his parents and I just basically told him to suck it up.

But then he did something that surprised me even more. He hugged me.

I froze. When Percy didn't let go, I hugged him back.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," he whispered in my ear.

"You had nothing to do with my past, it's fine," I replied, surprised.

"Yeah, but I'm sorry I acted like a jerk. I was selfish, thinking you hadn't gone through anything similar to what I had. And I'm sorry I yelled at you." He pulled away and looked me in the eye. "You didn't deserve that."

"Thanks," I responded softly. Suddenly all I could see were those eyes. Green, like the ocean, with flecks of blue, gold, and darker green, and a bit of hazel around the center. I could get lost in those eyes forever.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted.

"Well, the newbie has found Miss Princess," a rough voice called from behind me. I turned, scowling. It was Clarisse and her two friends.

"Go away, Clarisse. Don't you have something better to do than pick fights you can't win?" I asked, annoyed, hands on my hips.

"Yeah, but there's always enough time to fight _you_."

"Annabeth, what…?" Percy cut in, looking completely lost. I sighed.

"Percy, meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares."

"Like the war god?"

"Yes, the war god. Now, let's go." I grabbed his arm but Clarisses grabbed him too. He didn't stand a chance. She started to haul him to the bathroom and I followed, annoyed as heck.

"Clarisse, just leave him alone. He hasn't done anything."

"Doesn't matter," she countered. "We have an initiation ceremony for newbies like Prissy here."

"Percy," Percy and I corrected automatically.

"Whatever."

I opened my mouth to try again, but Percy gave me a look. It said to let him deal with it. He had to deal with the bully, not me. I closed my mouth and sighed, mentally telling Clarisse all the reasons she shouldn't do this.

Once inside the bathroom, I stood by the entrance and watched through my fingers as Clarisse started to lower Percy's head into the toilet bowl while her cronies watched from behind. The bathrooms reeked, and I cringed at the thought of getting dunked in the water. Poor Percy. He'd have to take a shower right after this.

Then the most surprising thing happened. As Percy struggled against the grip on his head, the plumbing started to gurgle. I could hear the pipes around the room shifting and shuddering, as if a large amount of pressure was on them. Then an arc of water shot out of the toilet bowl Percy's head was almost in, flew straight over his head, and hit Clarisse straight in the face.

Percy fell to the floor as Clarisse was pushed backward and started screaming. Another blast toppled her over and propelled her across the floor. Her friends came forward to help her, but then the rest of the toilets came to life too, holding them back. Like some creepy Fantasia mixed with a Vegas fountain show, the plumbing was rebelling and water was flying through the air. It was hilarious until the showers joined in the fun. It soon turned into an unexpected deluge for me too.

The water continued its performance until the Ares children were ejected through the door. Then, almost magically, the waterworks shut off. The bathroom was soaked.

I looked up, expecting to see Percy as drenched as me, but he was standing in a circle of dry floor, not a drop on him. I was shocked.

"How did you…" I said. He just stared back at me.

"I don't know."

We walked out the door to see Clarisse and her siblings in a puddle of mud with campers all around, gawking. Clarisse glared at us, eyes full of hate. "You are dead, new boy. Totally dead."

I expected Percy to leave it at that, but he didn't.

"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth." Clarisse's friends had to hold her back.

The crowd dispersed, leaving Percy and me alone. My mind was racing. I was in full strategic mode. If Percy stood along… And the Ares campers… Number of guards… Fighters…

I stared at Percy, a plan forming in my mind. Sure, I was kind of angry and grossed out, but what I could achieve with Percy on my team…

"What?" he demanded. "What are you thinking?" He must have see my expression. I smiled slowly.

"I'm thinking," I responded, "that I'm glad you're on my capture the flag team."

~o0o~

After dinner Chiron announced the capture the flag game. Everyone went crazy. What can I say? We love capture the flag.

I ran into the pavilion from where I had been listening outside. Some of my siblings and I were carrying our banner. It was gray with an owl and an olive tree for Athena. from the other side, Clarisse ran in with her siblings carrying their flashy-and ugly- red banner. We were so going to win.

I glance over and saw Percy talking to the head counselor of Hermes. I quickly looked away, not wanting him to catch me looking. Not that I'd mind looking into those eyes again.

"Heroes!" Chiron announced. "You know the rules." I did. I've been playing since I was seven. "The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game," he continued, and I mentally said his whole speech from memory. "Arm yourselves!" He spread his arms and all the weapons appeared. I grabbed my stuff and started walking towards the forest.

Soon Percy caught up to me. I wasn't able to out-walk those long legs of his.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Hi." I smiled.

"So, Connor told me I was on border patrol? What does that mean?"

"It's easy," I explained. "Just stand by the creek and don't let the enemy cross the border. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." Oh boy, did I. I just hopped he wouldn't be mad at me.

"Ok." He sounded disappointed. I dismissed it, going over my whole plan in my head. Something occurred to me.

"Oh! And watch out for Clarisse's spear. You don't want to get hit with that," I cautioned.

"Ok."

"Very eloquent today, Jackson," I teased.

"Hey! I have ADHD and dyslexia. Don't blame me!" he defended. I looked at him incredulously.

"Are you serious? You can't use that excuse here."

"Why not?" He scrunched his eyebrows together adorably.

"Percy, we _all_ have ADHD or dyslexia, remember?" I prompted.

"Oh, right." He smiled sheepishly. I recognized that smile. But then he ran his hand through his hair and I started to wonder what that would feel like if I ran my hands through his hair.

I blushed, embarrassed, and marched ahead with a mumbled "See ya."

_Focus, Annabeth. Do not let an extremely attractive, sweet guy distract you. _I did need to focus. I was executing a slightly difficult plan. I was sending most of my forces towards the middle, as a decoy, hoping to draw out the defense. Then I would lead another group around the left flank and push in towards the flag. I would also, of course, have my own defense. I called it Plan Chancellorsville. Get it? From the Civil War? Ah, never mind.

Soon the horn started for the games to begin. Malcolm led the decoy right down the middle, leaping over the creek. I watched from a hill, trying to see what was happening. It was hard, but when it seemed that most of the defense was around Malcolm, I started our move towards the flank.

We progressed quickly, our small group cutting through the forest easily. We met the few defenders head on. They put up a valiant struggle but they weren't prepared.

I handed the command over to Thalia as we got close to the flag. Then I threw on my Yankees cap, the invisibility one, and sprinted in Percy's direction. If I was right, and I normally was, Clarisse and her buddies would be beating him up right now. I felt guilty for putting him in that situation, but it was necessary to eliminate the main strategic opposition. Gods forbid his beautiful face to be harmed.

I reached where he was stationed and heard the clanging of swords. I pulled out my knife, but when I came within sight, I didn't need to do anything.

Percy was standing in the creek, fighting off all the Ares kids. And he was doing well. Several of them were on their butts and one no longer had a plume on his helmet. As I watched, the others backed away except for Clarisse. She charged straight on, but Percy side stepped, caught her spear between his sword and shield and snapped the shaft.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised and pleased, then lowered them, realizing no one could see me anyway.

Just then, Thalia came sprinting across the creek with the other team's banner. Everyone was cheering, drowning out Clarisse's yells. The flag shimmered to the Zeus cabin symbol, but I was focused on Percy.

"Not bad, hero," I congratulated. He turned to me, but looked around confused. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" I took of my cap and put it in my pocket. He had only been here a week, right?

"You set me up," he stated. I knew this was coming. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Thalia around the flank. You had it all figured out."

I shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in," I gestured to my unsheathed dagger, "but… You didn't need any help."

"Fine, you're right. But has this been your plan all along? To use me as a distraction?" He was getting more angry.

"No! I didn't initially think you would be a distraction. You were part of our team. But the opportunity arose, and I couldn't deny the strategic advantage I would have with you here." Woops. Wrong word choice. He stepped forward, fists clenched at his sides.

"So now I'm a 'strategic advantage'? What happened to us all being family?" People were starting to watch our argument. I didn't care.

"No, I meant everything I said today. But I'm the daughter of the goddess of battle strategy, okay? And that is what this game is, strategy. It would've been stupid not to do this." I was desperate. I didn't want Percy to be mad at me.

"Fine. I was stupid too. Stupid to think you thought of me any differently than anybody else." He started to turn, and I froze. He thought of me differently? He must, if he thought I thought of _him_ differently. A good different, obviously. Wait, he's walking away!

"Percy, wait!" I called after him. I started to run forward, conveniently forgetting there was a creek between us. I slipped, and I was going down. I flailed my arms, trying to catch on to something. Just then, strong, warm arms caught me.

It was Percy. I blushed. Everyone was staring at us, so I quickly straightened.

"I was fine," I muttered, trying to preserve my dignity.

"So glad you appreciate my help," he replied sarcastically. Then I noticed his arm was cut. I glanced at my hand, still holding my dagger. I looked back at his arm. Then the blood on my dagger.

"Percy! I cut you!" I cried, quickly sheathing my dagger. I dug in my pocket for ambrosia, but when I looked back up, the mark was almost gone. "How did you do that?" I asked quizzically.

"You just said so yourself Wise Girl, you cut me." I smiled at the nick name. But I quickly dismissed that.

"No, it _was_ a cut. It's gone." As I spoke, the wound disappeared completely, then everyone gasped. Percy tried to apologize, but we weren't looking at the ex-cut. We were looking above his head.

A green light.

A sign.

A trident.

Poseidon.

"Your father," I murmured, dazed, as all the campers dropped to their knees.

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

"My father?" he asked, bewildered.

"Poseidon," explained Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

* * *

**A/N: So very, extremely sorry for the late update! First I was very busy with my theatre group. Then I just wasn't very motivated, though I had the idea. I also didn't get much prompting in reviews *hint hint* How 'bout this: if I get 5 reviews, I'll update by Saturday, even if it kills me. If I don't get 5 reviews, I'll still update just not as soon. **

**Many thanks to ****_CouplesAroundMeButMe _****and ****_Dragon Clan _****for your reviews. Even the smallest words help, and bigger ones make my day!**

**The next chapter will have more modeling in it, and that includes Blue!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own PJO nor HOO**

* * *

Chapter 8

Annabeth

Percy, a son of Poseidon? I should've connected the pieces, like the bathroom episode and his eyes like the sea. But those same eyes distracted me… And now he was supposed to be my enemy. Poseidon and Athena do not get along. It's a rule.

So that is why I avoided Percy. I couldn't look at him without thinking how foolish I was to not only not connect the pieces, but to not connect the pieces because the kelp head distracted me. I felt bad about it, but he was supposed to be my rival. Meaning not my friend.

That is also why I accepted the next modeling gig, even though it was during camp. All I knew was I had to be gone for a week. That was enough time to sort out my thoughts about Percy, right?

That is also why I was surprised when, low and behold, Penny told me to pack for France. Paris, to be exact. What the heck?! How did Penny have connections in Paris?

Luckily for me, Piper was going too. Phew. For a second I was afraid I was going to be alone in the "City of Love." She was very excited to visit France. I was excited too, I hadn't been outside of the US before. My dream is to go to Greece someday and see the Parthenon.

I went home briefly to pack more for the trip. After all, this was Paris! I mean, I was only going to be 398.5 miles from Milan, the fashion capital. I couldn't wear my camp clothes!

Anyway, on this short visit home, my dad wanted to talk to me. I was hoping it would be about stopping modeling sometime soon. Although, if I was able to travel, it wasn't so bad…

"Annabeth, I'd like to discuss something with you," he started. We were sitting in his office, the same one where we had discussed my college finances those months ago.

"Yes?" I prompted when he didn't continue. He sighed.

"Well, you know how the modeling has been adding significantly to your college fund, and I support that, as long as you don't forcefully oppose it." He looked at me, waiting for me to protest. I didn't like modeling, but the money was worth it, at least for a while. Then I could be an architect. So I didn't protest. When I made no sound, he continued.

"But you will be going to Europe in two days, and I need to consider your safety more. Susan and Penny were right when they said you would travel, and, meet boys," he choked out the last part. "You are more exposed now that you are modeling, and we need to take some precautions. I've discussed this with your stepmom and Penny, and they agree."

Uh-oh. I hope I won't have to stay under hotel-arrest when traveling.

"We have decided to have you adopt a stage name, so to speak," he finally announced. Phew. Wait, what?!

"A stage name? You mean a fake name?" I sputtered.

"Yes." He shifted uncomfortably.

"What will my name be then? I like Annabeth Chase!"

"We feel it is up to you. But I don't want you gaining publicity in France as Annabeth Chase. Especially, with, well, monsters," he said, whispering the last word. I frowned.

"Dad, I don't think monsters can read," I pointed out.

"You never know," he said sagely. "They might be dyslexic too though." He gazed into space thoughtfully. I stared at him for a moment, and then we both started laughing.

"I'll think of something," I assured my dad.

"Good. As long as when you get off the plane at Charles de Gaulle Airport you aren't Annabeth anymore." He smiled as he started to rise out of his chair and I did the same.

~o0o~

I stumbled into the french terminal, bleary and nauseated. I think the airplane food and descending turbulence conspired against me. According to the overly-cheerful stewardess, it was 11:00 AM in beautiful Paris, France. It felt more like 11 PM. As you could guess, I hadn't gotten much sleep. It had been dark enough, sure, but we were in airplane seat, and it was stuffy. I'd been too hot, then too cold, asphyxiated and cramped… All in all, not much sleep.

Piper and I had also been discussing my stage name for a while. We had decided on Anna Hyde, and promptly told Penny. It was close enough to my real name that all my brain cells wouldn't have to work to recognize it as my name, and the last name was ironic. I was trying to not be Annabeth Chase, so how about going the opposite? And what's the opposite of chase? A logical answer could be hide, translated to Hyde, which is a perfect last name!

I stepped into the airplane an untravelled, alert, excited Annabeth Chase and had exited a slightly more travelled, tired, and still excited Anna Hyde.

I had a feeling this day was gonna be good.

~o0o~

A car was outside the airport, waiting for us. According to my research, the airport was about 20 miles from the outside of Paris and I slept the whole way. Once in the more urban area, Piper shook me awake. I gazed around in awe.

Before too many buildings crowded my view, I could see the tip of the Eiffel Tower in the distance to my right. Then I saw picturesque and modern buildings mixed together. Cobblestone streets could be seen away from the main thoroughfares, and parks with benches, trees, and flowers were scattered around.

People were everywhere. Hey, this _is_ Paris during the summer! It was considerably hot, but not too warm, as it was still morning.

The driver called our attention to the fact that we were crossing Champs Élysées. Piper gushed like a true (maybe) Aphrodite girl while I craned my neck to get a look at the Arc de Triomphe. Beautiful architecture, but based off the Romans. It would have been smarter of Napoleon to make something Greek. I still liked the arch though.

"Oh my god, did you see that?!" Piper exclaimed.

"Yes, I did, it was absolutely magnificent!" I responded, captivated by the arch.

"I could spend hours there, just looking," Piper oogled, leaving me surprised. I had no idea she was such an architecture enthusiast.

"I totally agree. The architects did a very good job. It's a more modern take on the Roman Arch of Titus, but the architect Jean-François Chalgrin did away with the columns and widened it. He wasn't the only architect, but he was a great one, since he was…" I trailed off, realizing I'd almost said that Chalgrin was a son of Athena, when the flame of Western Civilization was over France. It was then I noticed Piper looking at me weirdly.

"I was talking about the shopping…"

"Oh." I looked down. "I thought you meant the arch." She laughed.

"It's okay. I didn't know you liked architecture so much."

"Oh, I always have. I want to be an architect," Iinformed her.  
"Why?" she asked simply. Oh dear. How am I going to say this without revealing my mom?

"Well, I've always been interested in more intellectual things, and architecture was one of them," I answered carefully. She nodded her head then looked back out the window. By now we had gone over a bridge to cross the River Seine and had turned a bit. According to our itinerary, our hotel was in the Latin Quarter.

Once we arrived, some nice men took our luggage from us and placed it on a trolley. Once we checked in they followed us to our rooms, where they deposited our bags. Piper and I were sharing a room, and Penny had one to herself.

The rooms were nicely decorated, with walls the color of eggshells and detailed crown molding. Large, luscious drapes were secured to the sides of traditional-styled windows. When I walked closer, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, so our room must be facing west. Maybe we'll be able to see the sun sinking behind the Eiffel Tower.

I was shaken out of my observations by a large plop coming from behind me. I turned around to see Piper's bag emptied out next to one of the beds and her lying facedown on the bed, limbs to all sides.

"I'm so tired," she moaned into the blankets.

"I take it you want that bed," I commented. She laughed and rolled over.

"Yes, yes I do, and there is nothing you can do about it," she said defiantly. I actually didn't want that bed; the other bed was closer to the desk, but I couldn't let that challenge go unanswered.

"Oh yeah? Well what about this?" I ran over and grabbed her ankles, pulling her off the bed. She flopped to the ground and just stayed there, staring at the ceiling. "Um, Piper? Are you gonna take the bed back?" I inquired, confused at her lack of motion and usual spirit.

"No."

"Um...why?" I asked again. She shrugged, her shoulders rubbing against the the clothes she'd dumped on the ground.

"I decided it was too much effort. If you want the bed, have it. I'll sleep here." She then curled up on the ground. I was dumbfounded. She was giving up? My chocolate-haired friend was often contradictory, and this was completely out of character.

"Piper, I actually want the other bed. Get up and sleep on the bed, it was invented for a reason." When she started to lift herself up, I fell onto the other bed and closed my eyes.

~o0o~

I was woken up by incessant knocking. I opened my eyes, looking for the familiar grey walls of my room. Funny, my dad must have painted my walls while I was asleep, 'cause they were beige-colored. Oh, and Susan probably bought me new covers too…

Then I sat up, as quickly as prairie dog. The knocking continued, and I looked around my room, the _hotel_ room, to see Piper out of bed and the bathroom door closed.

I rolled out of bed and opened the door to see an impatient-looking Penny.

"Oh good, Annabeth, you're awake," she said as she stepped into the room. "I was afraid I was going to have to resort to asking for an extra key."

"Oh, no, I'm awake now," I replied, closing the door and yawning.

"Yes. I came to wake you both up to go sight seeing! I figured since we will be starting the shoot tomorrow morning you'd like some time to view Paris," my manager explained.

"Oh! That sounds good. What time is it though?" I felt like I had slept hours, and I was still tired. How could Penny be so awake?

"It's about three. I figured we could do some sightseeing and then go to dinner. I managed to get a reservation at a marvelous place," she answered as she sat on a chair.

"Sounds fantaaastic," I yawned. "Just let me get ready."

~o0o~

Half and hour later, all three of us were walking on the streets of Paris. Accordion music wafted through the air, as tacky as it seems. Tourists were flocking to picture spots, and the leaves on the trees contrasted magnificently with the slightly overcast sky.

Piper and I both had cameras at the ready. Piper stopped to take many pictures of views, especially picturesque ones, like the wall coated in blooming bougainvillea surrounding a window with dark green shutters. I never would have noticed it to begin with, but Piper did. I could see how artistic she was.

By the time we reached the _Jardin des Plantes_, the main botanical garden in Paris, I think her memory card was full. We entered (it was free) and I was astounded by the diversity of plants. The greenery was intense, arranged artfully around the main building. Paths meandered through the planters and people strolled by. The music of fountains added a peaceful soundtrack to the whole scene. I could have stayed there forever.

Just then, Penny's phone started to ring like crazy. I darted my head to the sound and she fumbled with her purse to check the caller ID.

"Oh, I must get this," she sighed. She hit the answer button. "You two look around. I'll meet you here in a bit. Oh Alonso! How lovely to hear from you." Her voice faded as she walked away, and the serenity was restored.

I looked at Piper and she rolled her eyes. I laughed quietly, not wanting to disturb the tranquility. We linked arms and followed a path to the left. We wandered a bit, never straying too far from other people. We found ourselves walking down a promenade lined with tall trees. The most prominent color was green, and while other shades appeared, I could only imagine what this botanical sanctuary must look like in the spring.

Next we reached a labyrinth. My mind flashed to Daedalus' labyrinth, the one that was supposed to be growing under America. I quickly pushed it out of my mind and focused on the tall walls of shrubs before us.

"Race you to the middle!" Piper called as she sprinted away. I smirked and sprinted after her. It wasn't a hard labyrinth, more decorative than confusing. We reached the middle at the same time, laughing and out of breath.

We circled back around. The gardens were too extensive to see "in a bit," but we saw a lot as we walked. I saw a path leading to what looked like a little zoo. There also seemed to be a lot of different climate areas, like Australia and Mexico.

Finally we made it back to the beginning, where Penny was sitting looking at her phone. She looked up when we were near.

"Oh lovely, I was just going to look for you girls. I planned to go to the Louvre next," she stated, putting her cellular device away.

"Sounds fantastic," I said, excited to see the famous museum. Piper nodded, eyes shining.

We exited the gardens and caught a taxi to the Louvre. My mind was blown. I looked around, barely processing what I saw. And this was only the outside! The glass pyramid and old building went strangely well together, but it reminded me of how old Paris really is. I mean, America has a history, but Europe discovered America in the 14th century. Europe has been populated since BCE. There was so much history, empires, cultures, whole civilizations. It made the US seem like a kid.

By the time we purchased tickets and entered the museum, I swear my neck was going to snap. I was trying to look at everything. There was so much! We toured through room after room, style after style of art, and I think we only scratched the surface.

The funniest thing was a painting of a Dutch sailor. He looked exactly like my dad! It was scary. I snapped a picture and continued walking.

Pretty soon we converged with many other people in a white hall. Guards and rails were conducting traffic, and cameras were in hand. We had made it to the Mona Lisa!

Piper and I politely elbowed our way to the front rows. Wow. A bit of a disappointment. The painting was actually quite small, only 30 x 21 inches. I expected something bigger. But no matter. I took some pictures then stared.

Painting was not my forte, though I could sketch. I marveled at how the individual brush strokes came together to form a cohesive whole, not one line misplaced. That black splotch? A faint shadow under the eye. The bit of pink? A rosy complexion, my friend. Leonardo da Vinci, the artist, was a true genius. Another son of Athena, when Western Civilization was in Italy. If the Renaissance wasn't the flame, then what is?

Anyways, I admired the painting a bit longer before I was pushed to the back. I met both my companions in a side nook. Their faces mirrored the dreamy, impressed look I knew was on mine.

"Lovely, wasn't it girls?" Penny sighed, eyes still locked on the front of the crowd.

"Yeah," Piper breathed. "It's so… calm, yet so beautiful."

"And mysterious," I added. "They still aren't sure about the subject of the painting, though it is thought to be Lisa del Giocondo." Leave it to me to ruin a nice moment. Both the females looked at me, then seemed to accept it.

"Well, we should be going soon. Our dinner reservation is at 7:30, and it is almost 7," the oldest woman commented. Startled, I looked at my watch. We had spent about two hours at both stops. Wow.

We exited the museum at a leisurely pace then started walking. According to Penny, the restaurant was pretty near and the sun was only starting to sink. At precisely 7:25, we reached a quaint street with several restaurants and outdoor seating. It wasn't too crowded yet, so we walked right up to the hostess table. In lovely accented english a waiter led us to an outdoor table and we picked up the menus.

After ordering I looked at Piper and was quickly blinded. The sun formed a halo right behind her head and I could hardly see. I winced and grabbed sunglasses out of my bag.

Soon a nice bottle of sparkling water and some entreés arrived. Penny had gone to the bathroom and I was laughing at a joke Piper had made. Suddenly Piper went silent and I felt someone tap my shoulder. I expected it to be a waiter and I turned with a polite smile. To my surprise it was a tall, tan man with gelled back black hair. He had sunglasses and a royal blue polo shirt. He looked familiar but I frowned, unsure.

"You wouldn't happen to be a model, would you?" he asked brazenly. I nodded uncertainly. "Well, I'm one too."

I frowned more, not exactly charmed by his cocky attitude. I looked him up and down, trying to recognize him. I realized first that he was American. How on earth would I know an American male model? Right, that summer shoot thing.

"Blue?" I asked, surprised. He grinned.

"Yep! That's my name, don't wear it out. And I'm assuming since you know my name, that you are Sandwich Girl," he announced proudly. Piper spluttered a bit, but when I turned to look at her, she hid behind the dessert menu.

"Yeah," I responded.

"Fancy seeing you here in Paris, of all places."

"Oh, yeah, I'm here for a shoot," I explained, trying to find an easy level of conversation. I looked at Piper again, and she made a phone gesture with her hand. I mentally groaned, remembering that I'd told her I'd get his phone number.

"So am I," he said easily. He sat in Penny's vacant chair, completely at ease. I frowned again. What right did he have? He wasn't like this last time. "Actually, I'm at a shoot tomorrow morning. When are you shooting?" he inquired.

"Um, Penny said tomorrow morning as well."

"Penny?" he asked. I nodded. "Wavy brown hair, calls people darling?" I nodded again. He winced.

"What's wrong?"

"I may or may not have made her hate my guts by eating a prop sandwich," he muttered. I laughed at that.

"Were they as good as they looked?"

"Yep," he grinned. "But I better be going before she comes back. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, standing up.

"Maybe. Probably not. Penny has a tight schedule for us all morning." This was true, but I was unsure about seeing Blue again.

"Then maybe the afternoon?" he tried again. Piper was gesturing wildly, still hidden from Blue's view by the menu. I caught on.

"Sure, but how will we meet?" I noted. He bit his lip.

"You have a phone?" I nodded. "Here's my number. I'll text you tomorrow." He scrawled something on my napkin before walking away quickly.

Piper put down the menu and grinned at me. "Looks like you have a date."

* * *

**A/N: Heyo. Sorry for the delay again, but I won't make excuses. This was a fun chapter to write, and I did a lot of research. Also, most of Annabeth's experiences in Paris are based off of mine :)**

**What did you think of her stage name?**

**CouplesAroundMeButME: Thank you soooo much! It really makes me happy to know that someone loves my writing this much. **

**Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thank you for your continuous words of encouragement :)**

**cupcakesdofart: I'm glad to get a new reviewer! I don't know if you just found this story or just decided to review, but thanks a bundle!**

**So many thanks to my reviewers, favoriteers, and followers. It is for YOU that I'm disappointed in myself for being a late updater. So please review? Pretty please? The more reviews, the faster the update.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO, only these ideas.**

Chapter 9

Annabeth

My peaceful dream was interrupted by the sound of a cat being murdered. Oh, wait, never mind, it's just the alarm clock.

Anyway, like most people, I didn't rise right away. Instead, I curled up and then opened my eyes. After five minutes of staring at the ceiling, Penny barged into the room. I guess she got that extra key.

"Ladies! Rise and shine! The shoot starts in half an hour, so move it!" she yelled, successfully rousing Piper and me from our slumber.

"Half an hour?" I shrieked. "How are we going to eat and get dressed?"

"I brought breakfast," Penny responded, handing us each a croissant, bottle of orange juice, and some ham and cheese. I copied Piper and put the protein inside the croissant. "As for getting dressed, this is modeling! Whatever you wear will be gone within minutes anyway."

Nevertheless, Piper and I both wolfed down the meal and put on niceish outfits. We managed to make it to the shoot right on time.

From then on, it was like a whirlwind. Piper, me, and all the other girls at the shoot were whisked from station to station, person to person, to be false-efied. But this was more intense than anything I'd done before. I don't think the stylists really cared about our looks except as a canvas to paint one, literally and figuratively. My face was assaulted by make-up brushes, eyeliner, lipstick, primer, blush, you name it, it most likely touched my face.

My hair was brushed, combed, parted, clipped, straightened, curled, re-straightened, and forced into different forms of hair acrobatics. I must have lost at least a fifth of my hair with that.

I was then tried into different gowns. As I said before, I didn't really pay attention to this shoot except as a way to distance myself from Percy. Apparently, this was one of those modern yet old-fashioned ball-type shoots, advertising some French clothing line.

So we tried on dresses. And dresses. First, the clothing lady took my measurements in rapid fire movements, then disappeared behind racks of garments. She reappeared shortly after with an armful of dresses. She held the fabrics to my face and selected a few. Then she told me to get into the first one. She looked at me from all angles, tugging and adjusting. She seemed to find it unfit and I changed into another one.

This continued until she found one she was satisfied with. She marked the fitting that needed to be done and then sent me to a different lady who made the changes. Finally I put it on for real and looked in a mirror. I was shocked.

The dress was a light blue with lace, see-through sleeves. The collar was slightly V-necked and pleated. The bodice had detailed floral embroidery in a pearly white that matched the sleeves. The top curved in at the waist and flared a bit at the hips, falling in waves down the back but straight down the front. There was a bit of a bustle in the back, with the bottom edge of the dress pleated like the collar.

My hair was done up in a Victorian style bun, but much more elaborate. Braids wound around my head and curls and twists added flare.

And my make-up. My skin was a shade paler and my eyes were accentuated. My eyelashes contrasted with my paler skin and soft pink lips. But most significantly changed were my eyes. They were blue.

With my jet-lagged, foggy, whirlwinded mind, I must not have noticed contacts being put in. There was so much poking going on with my eyes anyway. I could clearly tell they were contacts, though, and they perfectly matched the blue of my dress.

I barely looked like Annabeth anymore.

It hit me then, like a ton of bricks. I _wasn't _Annabeth anymore. I was Anna Hyde. Anna, the model, not Annabeth, the bookaholic. Anna was the one that was wearing a bunch of makeup and an appropriately-named bleu de France gown. Anna was the international model, the person in magazines. Not Annabeth.

And who knows? Maybe Anna Hyde has blue eyes.

I smiled. This could be fun.

~o0o~

I collapsed onto bed. If one more person yelled at me in French, I might just pull my dagger on someone.

Once all the girls were ready, we had been led into a ballroom and flashes had started. We had been paired with some male models. I hadn't been then, and I wasn't sure now either, if I was relieved or upset that Blue hadn't been my partner. I'm not even positive that he had been there.

So after many commands in French, poses, and dying feet in heels, the shoot was over and Piper and I went back to the room. And back to me lying on the bed.

As I found a comfier position, something crinkled in my pocket. I frowned and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. A napkin, to be more specific. It was Blue's phone number.

I remembered that I'd said I'd call him, but I was a bit put off by his attitude yesterday. But, he was a male model, what could you expect? In the end, I settled on texting him a 'Hey.'

Soon after, he responded. We exchanged greetings, then he invited me to dinner. That was quite to the point. I hesitated but then accepted, figuring I had nothing to lose.

My mind flashed to Percy, but I pushed it out away. Where had that come from? I wasn't romantically interested in him. Besides, we weren't supposed to be friends, let alone a couple.

His response dinged back quickly, saying to meet him at the front entrance of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was pretty close to our hotel, so I agreed to meet him at seven.

Thinking about being on a date made me think of Aphrodite, so I looked to Piper, who was also on her phone.

"Hey, Piper?" I started. She looked up.

"Yeah?"

"What would you do," I said hesitantly, "if I told you that I have a date with Blue tonight?" Piper squealed and joined me on my bed.

"I would get very excited and come join you on your bed and demand that you tell me everything," she responded. So I told her about my conversation. She promised to help me get ready, but right now all I wanted was sleep.

I was shaken rather rudely awake some time later.

"Annabeth! Annabeth! Wake up!" someone was saying. I rolled over and opened my eyes.

"What?" I croaked out.

"Well, first, it's weird that your eyes are blue. And second, you have to get ready for your date!" the someone, Piper, told me. I blinked, realizing the contacts were still in.

"Okay, I'm up. What time is it?" I asked. I was always disoriented after napping.

"Six fifteen. We have to hurry, if you're meeting Blue at seven."

For the next half hour, Piper helped me get ready. I didn't have enough time to shower so we didn't really do anything to my hair or makeup. Piper just touched up my face and then we used a combination of my clothes and Piper's clothes to end up with something I would never normally wear. I had on a shirt that was tighter than my normal clothes, and it was, to quote Piper, showing off my curves. I also had on a skirt and slightly heeled sandals.

At six forty-five I had told Penny where I was going and was on my way to the cathedral.

~o0o~

Blue was relatively easy to find. He looked the same as yesterday, with slicked back hair and sunglasses. He was leaning over a railing looking into the River Seine.

"Hi," I greeted him. He jumped and looked at me, a slight panic showing on his face. He leaned on the railing, successfully hiding the water from my view.

"Hey," he said back, clearing his throat. He crossed his arms over his-muscular- chest and tried to look nonchalant.

"Blue, I can already tell you're a bad liar," I laughed. "I know you're trying to hide something, but I won't ask." He dropped his arms, looking guilty.

"Thanks, I guess," he murmured, looking down. This slip in his confident air intrigued me. As quickly as it appeared though, it disappeared.

"So," he grinned. "Welcome to Paris." He spread his arms in a wide gesture.

"I've already been here more than a day," I commented. "You're a little late."

"I know." He linked his arm in mine and started leading me towards the Notre Dame. "Yet I am here now to be your official tour guide."

"Have you even been to Paris before?" I inquired.

"Nope," he responded cheerfully. "But I've been here a day more than you have, so I consider myself an expert." We laughed together as we entered the famous cathedral.

I was captivated. The gothic style, thick walls, supports, columns, stained glass windows… I could go on. I was in yet another architectural paradise. I noticed Blue watching me. He was frowning slightly, like he was trying to figure something out. I found this curious, but forgot it as I saw a chamber off to the side with a little altar type thing. I was about to die of architectural fulfillment.

We wandered around the marvelous place a bit more, then exited by the river. The change from sobriety to cheerful French culture was apparent. Abruptly, Blue asked me a question.

"Who are your parents?" I took a step back, bewildered by the sudden question. I wanted to be honest, too, but I couldn't mention Athena.

"Why do you ask?" I stalled.

"You kind of remind me of someone, so I'm trying to figure out if you are in any way related to them," he explained. Huh. He must know some other child of Athena, if this observation came from my reaction to the Notre Dame.

"Well, my dad is a nice guy, and so is my mom, but she is strict," I said vaguely. "I don't really want to say more, considering I don't know you too well." He frowned, pensive.

"That's true, and I respect that. I just realized something though."

"What?" He took a step closer.

"I don't even know your name," he murmured, but he was close enough that I heard. He was right, too. He only knew my nick name.

"Anna Hyde," I said quietly back. I stumbled a bit on the Anna, but I wasn't going to tell Blue my real name when this was part of the reason my dad had me make up this name in the first place.

"Well Anna," he said softly, and heck, it was sexy. "You really do remind me of someone, it's strange." His closeness was affecting me so I didn't really process what he was saying or doing. At least, that's what I told myself after.

Quickly, he broke me out of my stupor by pulling on my hand, hard. I immediately crashed right into him, then flailed sideways. He caught me, but I was pretty humiliated.

"What was that for?" I demanded. I backed away from him, rubbing my hand. It still tingled from his touch.

"I was testing something," he said distractedly. "I was trying to see if… but never mind. That can't be right." He looked at me full on now, staring at my eyes, turning on that grin of his. "So lets go to dinner."

"Are you crazy?" I asked. "Why would I go to dinner with you now!?" I glared at him.

"Because of my charming personality and good looks?" he responded, unperturbed. The contacts must be affecting my glare abilities. I normally could get anyone to back down.

"Why are you asking me, anyway? Because of my inability to spot rude people?" I exclaimed, angry at how shallow, obnoxious, and cocky he was being. I turned away, starting to head back to my hotel.

"Hey wait!" he called. I whirled around, still angry.

"Why? So you can anger me more?" He winced.

"Look, I'm sorry," he tried. I crossed my arms, unimpressed. "It's just, I wanted to prove that you weren't related to who I thought you were. I figured since you weren't like her, you wouldn't be like her at all." He seemed desperate.

"It isn't so black and white," I fumed. "It's a spectrum. What, did you think that if I wasn't like this person, I'd be swayed by your looks and charm? Really? Do I look like a shallow idiot to you?" He shook his head. "Good. Keep it that way." I stood there, unsure about what to do now.

"I have an idea!" he declared.

"A miracle," I murmured. He ignored me.

"How about you teach me about this color spectrum thing? Over dinner?" he pleaded, looking hopeful. I thought about it. I could leave if he was a jerk again. Besides, I'd be teaching.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Yeah!" he yelled, actually fist pumping the air, which brought us some strange looks.

"But first, shush," I instructed and pulled his hand down, but he didn't let go of my hand. "Don't push it, mister." I threw him a warning glance. He dropped my hand quickly.

~o0o~

Sitting down to dinner, I was more relaxed. We'd walked along the Seine to another outdoor cafe and were seated pretty quickly.

"So, Anna," Blue started. The way he said my name, or part of my name, my pseudonym? Whatever. Anyway, the way he said 'Anna' was delicious. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I still don't know you that well," I stated.

"True, but we know each other's names now, and what better way to get to know each other than to talk?" He had a point there.

"Touché," I said. "Let's play Any Three Questions." It was a game Piper told me about; she would play it with her dad. "Nothing is off limits and we have to answer honestly." Maybe it was silly of me to expose myself this way, but oh well.

"I'll go first," Blue said excitedly. I smiled. "Do you have a boyfriend, what is an embarrassing story of yours, and, let's see, from which side of the family do you get your looks?" He looked at me expectantly, and I thought for a moment.

"I don't have a boyfriend." He smiled at this, as I expected. "My hair and eyes are from my mother, so is my nose, and the rest of my face resembles my dad."

"So, your mom has wavy blonde hair and blue eyes?" he asked. I hesitated, then nodded. I guess my hair was starting to curl despite being straightened, and of course I was still wearing the contacts. "Where is she from, California?" he joked, and I laughed with him.

"No, she isn't." I didn't elaborate, and he didn't ask. I couldn't say she was originally from Greece, after all.

"Okay, now your embarrassing story," he reminded me. I thought about what I could tell him. I couldn't tell that one, or that one… maybe the one when I outsmarted a teacher? Blue took my silence the wrong way. "Aw, is Anniekins scared to humiliate herself?" he mocked.

"First, don't ever call me Annie. Second, I was thinking." He was sufficiently humbled now. I suddenly had a brainwave. A little cruel, but it would be funny. "Third, there was this time I was having a nice conversation, when the person I was conversing with pulled my hand so I fell and made a fool of myself in public." I looked at him, awaiting the reaction.

"Who would do that?" he frowned.

"Really? You did that, fish brain!" He stared at me, startled. I felt like face palming.

"What?"

"You pulled my hand and made me fall, silly. Earlier, remember? Gosh, you're like a goldfish." It _seemed_ like he had a three-second memory span, anyway.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. But why did you call me a fish brain?" He seemed quite disturbed by this.

"Because fish often have bad memories, and you, sir, didn't remember something that happened less than an hour ago!"

"Ok, right. Sorry," he said, relieved.

"I should get to give you a nickname, since you gave me one," I observed.

"I already have a nickname," he protested.

"Nope, not gonna cut it," I shot down, shaking my head. "I dub thee Fish Brain." I took my knife from next to my fork and tapped him on the shoulders, like I was knighting him, and we laughed together.

Sometime during this, we ordered dinner. Our Any Three Questions turned into Any Twenty Questions, and I learned a lot about Blue. Like how he'd always wanted a dog, and how he lived with his mom in New York, started modeling a year ago, disliked closed spaces, and loved the beach. He apparently also loves to eat, judging from what he ordered and how quickly he ate it (Seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds). He learned a lot about me, too.

It grew dark, Blue took off his sunglasses, and shadows danced across our faces. A breeze came up, and as we left the restaurant I shivered. My (I guess) date quickly offered me his coat, a deed true to the chivalry I'd thrust upon him earlier with my dinner knife.

When we reached the hotel, I somewhat reluctantly offered the jacket back to Blue. I felt comfortable and safe in it. When he took it from my grasp, our hands brushed.

I could still feel the warmth once I reached my room. I might not be enchanted with his attitude, but I couldn't deny the attraction we had.

* * *

**Hey readers! I'm so happy I managed to get this up in a week. I even did this before doing my homework, I love you all that much ;) I will try to update in a week or less, and school is ending soon so I'm expecting faster updates :)**

**I would love to know what you all think of the conflict scene, reviews make my day. It only takes a minute (or more if you want to be awesome and write more).**

**Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: I'm sooo glad you liked the description in this chapter, I worked really hard on it. And yes, the Mona Lisa really is that small! I was surprised when I saw it too. I'd heard so much about it, only to find a smallish painting. I am sooo happy you reviewed!**

**cupcakesdofart: It really makes me smile and feel excited to know that someone is that involved in my story to be so excited :) Hope you still feel that way! Thank you so much!**

**And a big THANKS to all the readers, I appreciate it! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclamier: I do not own anything Rick Riordan owns.**

Chapter Ten

When my alarm went off the next morning, I felt rested and rejuvenated. I had had a dreamless night, a strange thing for a demigod. The sunlight was shining through the window and the whole world felt at peace.

Why, might you ask? Because I'd had a wondrous evening. I know Blue had seriously offended me yesterday, but I still felt a pull, a tug in my gut, to be with him. Any other guy I would've refused to be with for what Blue did, pulling me like that. The gods know I've refused boys for less. Normally I was more cautious. The only other person that had elicited such a reaction from me was Percy, and even Athena probably wouldn't understand why.

This morning we went back to the modeling site. Today was a shorter day, we were just doing specific shots like shoes or handbags. That meant that we did not need to get completely made up. Hooray! The shoot was over before long.

Penny stayed to talk over more logistics, but Piper and I headed out. The sun was shining brightly (thanks Apollo), and I was glad I had my hat on. Not the Yankees one, though, but a normal baseball cap.

On the sidewalk, we were met by two guys. I recognized one as Blue but the other was a stranger. I looked him over. He had light blonde, short hair, like Blue's when I first met him. He had a small scar above his lip and light, electric blue eyes that reminded me of someone. The most noticeable thing, however, was his air of leadership and power. He walked with the confidence of someone who knew what he wanted and how to get it, but with a modesty that made him approachable.

Blue walked right in front of me so I had to focus on him. For the first time, I saw his whole face, with no sunglasses or shadows. His features were well defined, as I could tell before, and what I noticed were his eyes. They were a dark green shade. I expected them to sparkle and have depth like Percy's, but Blue's seemed actually kind of dulled. Was he wearing contacts too? I was now very eager to know what color his eyes were. He seemed like a happy person, so I was assuming his real, expressive eyes were hidden by contacts. I was still wearing mine, after attaining some from a stylist for my masquerades as Anna Hyde.

The other boy had gone over to Piper, who seemed to know who he was. Blue saw where my gaze went and stiffened.

"Anna, this is Jason. Jason, Anna." Blue made the introductions stiffly and formally, almost glaring at Jason. Was he jealous or something?

"It's nice to meet you," Jason said, shaking my hand.

"Likewise," I responded. He seemed nice enough, anyway. Jason then went to start a conversation with Piper.

"They get along well, don't they?" I asked Blue quietly.

"Yes," he responded. Piper's movements were very calculated and I knew she didn't want to mess anything up. She must like Jason!

"I think they're flirting with each other!" I said excitedly. Blue frowned at me.

"Yes… they are…"

"Oh, yay! Go Piper!" Blue looked at me, confused.

"You're happy they're flirting?" he asked.

"Of course. I want Piper to be happy. Why, are you jealous?" I joked.

"No, well, I guess. Sorry," he replied morosely.

"I was joking," I said, surprised. "But thanks for telling me." His eyes went wide, and I saw more of that dull green.

"You were joking?"

"Yeah." I bumped shoulders with him. "But someone admitted it!" I laughed, and he laughed with me.

"So, onto the reason we came over here to begin with, we were wondering if-" Blue started, but was cut off by Piper.

"Hey, Anna? We're gonna go sightsee some, kay?" my friend informed me excitedly. She seemed so thrilled that she was going somewhere with Jason and it made me smile.

"Yeah, sure, have fun!" I called to the duo as they walked away. I turned back to Blue. "You were saying?"

"Well, I was saying that _we_ wanted to take you sightseeing, but it seems that now _I_ want to take you sightseeing," he completed, running his hand over his gelled back hair. I laughed again. When did I become so giggly?

"I'd love to go sightseeing. Were to?"

"Dunno," Blue shrugged. "Let's just walk."

"Okay." So we walked. We made it to the River Seine again, and it made me smile to remember last night. I looked at Blue and saw that he was looking intensely at the sparkling water of the river.

"Communing with the mermaids?" I jokingly asked. That was what Percy would do if he were here. Blue smiled at me. I tried to throw Percy out of my mind.

"Maybe I am," my companion joked back.

"Careful then," I playfully warned. "The sirens might seduce you to your doom." He looked at me seriously.

"There's only one siren that could do that," he told me seriously, staring into my eyes. I looked down, glad that my hat brim hid my blushing cheeks. When I looked up again, Blue's heavy gaze was thankfully somewhere else. Soon mine was too.

Something was moving with a strange gait in the crowd. My monster senses were tingling. I'd been having too good of a week. The crowd parted slightly and I glimpsed reptilian tails. Oh no. Scythian Dracanae. I really didn't want to leave Blue to kill a monster again.

So I decided to run.

"Hey, Blue!" I said, turning to look at him, leaving my back to the monster woman.

"Yeah?" He turned to me, smiling. He looked over my shoulder and frowned, then his expression went back to normal. I shook it off.

"Let's go over there!" I pointed to an alley across the street then grabbed his hand from where it rested above his pocket and pulled him across the street, ducking into the crowd.

"Why? Where are we going?" he asked me, stumbling to keep up.

"I saw a really pretty picture spot," I lied, hoping there would be one.

"Okay…" He seemed puzzled, and I didn't blame him. Once we reached the alley, he tried to stop, but I kept pulling him down different streets, imagining the snake woman behind us.

When I finally stopped, I had no idea where we were.

"I thought you wanted to stop at a picture spot," Blue commented.

"Yeah, I did, but then I wanted to," I paused, quickly letting go of Blue's hand. "Explore. I wanted to explore." I smiled, hoping he would buy it.

"Uh, okay. Sounds good. We should probably head back now though," he told me.

"Sure," I conceded. I turned to head back the way we came, only to find three streets converging into the one we were on. "Um… Which way did we come?"

"Uh, the left?" Blue guessed.

"Good enough for me." I started walking through the left fork. That led us to another fork.

"I don't know about you, but I do not remember making this many turns," Blue said as I picked a path, then another, and another.

"You wouldn't remember," I said distractedly. He looked hurt and I quickly explained. "These aren't like a road intersection. It's all multiple roads converging into one, that converges into another, and another. On our way we never chose a fork, we just followed the main route. On the way back, though, we are going against the grain. Get it?"

"Oh. Ok. Yeah." He nodded.

"You know what this means, right? We are not easily getting out of here." His face darkened.

"Great." Then his face lit up. "Wait, do you have your phone? We can look on a GPS!" I was excited too, for one second.

"I, um, I was expecting to go right back to the hotel, so I didn't bring it. Woops. Do you have your phone?"

"I may or may not have spent half the night playing on it, leaving it to charge this morning," he said sheepishly.

"Fantastic. Well, we'll do it the old fashioned way. Let's walk."

So we walked. I tried to pick paths logically, but there was no logic left. I was completely disoriented, and the sun was covered by clouds. Dark clouds. It would just be icing on the cake for it to rain. Blue noticed it too.

"I hope it doesn't rain," he commented worriedly.

"I agree. I'm not dressed for that." Ok. That sounded superficial, but I often got very cold when wet, and I only had a light jacket, not enough protection from the rain.

"We'll get out of here before it rains," he assured me. Just then I felt something on my arm. I nearly jumped out of my skin, thinking it was a spider. Good news, it wasn't a spider. Bad news, it was rain

"Too late," I announced, showing him the water droplet on my fingers. He wiped it off, his hand warm.

"Shall we run?" he asked, offering his arm.

"We shall." I grabbed his arm and started running, only trying to find shelter.

The rain drops started coming down harder. I pulled down my hat brim, trying to hide my face. Blue held his jacket up. It was futile, however, and soon we were soaked. It was a good summer storm, and it didn't seem to want to stop soon. Thanks, Zeus.

My eyes searched for a place to find cover, but very little could be seen through the curtain of rain and darkness. House windows offered meager light to the false night, just enough to not trip and fall by, but the cobblestones, so endearing by sun and slippery by rain, were counteracting that slim advantage.

"Over here!" Blue called over the din. He pulled me into a doorway that had a bit of cover. We caught our breaths, watching the rain fall.

"Nice eye," I complimented him. "I would've missed this."

"Thanks." Just then he seemed to notice our proximity. I did too. The doorway was small, and we were large. We were quite close. I cleared my throat and looked down. I shivered, my clothes clinging to me like paper mache. My hair was plastered to my face and my hat sat heavy on my head, weighed down by water.

"Are you okay, Anna?" he asked me carefully. "You look a bit pale."

"Just a little cold, is all. I'll be fine," I assured him. I would be fine, if I could get some warmth soon. Blue seemed unaffected by the water, but I sure couldn't stand the wind on my wet clothes much longer.

"You sure? You can have my jacket; I'm not cold." He started to take the jacket off, but I shook my head.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. You need the jacket too."

"No, really, I'll be okay, you can have the jacket."

"Please, don't," I insisted, putting my hand by his shoulder to prevent him from taking off the jacket. It might have lingered there a moment too long. I started to pull away, but Blue grabbed onto my hand. He was so warm.

"Anna!" he gasped. "You're really cold. Take my jacket."

"No," I said firmly. "You need it too." I did not need to be a damsel in distress. But he was so warm…

"Then let me warm you up."

"How are you going to do that?" I wondered. Suddenly it occurred to me that it was raining, and we were in Paris, and this could totally be our first kiss.

"Like this," he said. He pulled me to him, across the small distance, and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I layed my head on his shoulder and he rubbed my back. He was so comfortable and _warm_, and I felt perfect in his strong arms. I nestled into his chest more, relaxing in the safety.

"You're warm," I mumbled against his chest. I could feel the vibrations of his chuckle.

"I told you you were cold," he gloated.

"Fine, I was. What are you gonna do about it?" I playfully glared up at him. Our eyes met, and I was lost. The color may be dull, but they held so much emotion. I was staring deep into his eyes, into the soul of Peter "Blue" Johnson, and it felt so right. I leaned up as he leaned down, and I knew we were going to kiss. I just knew it.

And then I sneezed. I looked down, a reflex from sneezing, and cursed myself. I just ruined it.

"Hey Anna? We should get you someplace warm," he said, concerned. "Come on, we'll ask directions."

"Okay," I agreed, sad that I would have to leave his arms. He let go of me, and I stumbled a bit. Blue frowned.

"Are you up to walking? I don't want you to get worse." He looked cute all worried, with his eyebrows scrunched up. His hair was messy, but I guess the gel held, because it was still back, away from his face. "I got it! I'll carry you."

Before I could protest, I was in his arms, and then I didn't really want to protest at all. I put my arms around his neck and nuzzled deeper into his embrace. The rain had lightened up a bit, but Blue still leaned over me to shield me from the rain. I was grateful.

Miraculously, it seemed he found were we entered the maze of streets and hailed a cab. I remember getting in, and then I passed out. **(asleep)**

~o0o~

I woke up to a very worried Piper. She sighed in relief when I opened my eyes.

"Annabeth, you were starting to worry me. I'm relaxing in our room with Jason when suddenly Blue is in here holding you and saying he thinks you have hypothermia!" Piper informed me. "You don't have hypothermia, by the way."

"Thanks. Yeah, we got caught in the rain and I get cold easily when wet," I explained, sitting up. I was a little stiff, but fine. With a little sip of nectar I'd be right as rain. Oy, bad pun.

"Good. Blue would be here, but Penny kicked everyone not of the female gender out of here. He was very worried though. It was so cute"

"Great," I said sarcastically. "I'm sorry I interrupted your time with Jason, though. How was it?" I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively and she blushed. She was smiling too.

"Oh, it was so fun! He totally thinks your name is Anna, too. I felt like a spy or something. But then he took me to the Eiffel Tower and we went to the very top," Piper was saying. She continued to tell me everything about their time together. "We saw the storm clouds though. Well, Jason did. They were pretty far off, though, I wouldn't have noticed them. We started to head back in case it started raining, and when we finally reached a taxi, the first few drops were falling. Looks like you and Blue weren't as lucky."

"No, we were not. We got lost and then it was raining and we could hardly see, let alone escape that maze of streets," I described.

"Anything else happen?" my roommate asked me with the same method of eyebrow wiggling I had used earlier. Oh well, I deserved it.

"Actually, yes." She squealed. "We almost kissed, but then we didn't." I was not going to tell her I messed up the kiss because I sneezed! How embarrassing would that be?

"Why didn't you?" she asked, confused. "I mean, he obviously likes you." He did?!

"Oh, nothing. Did you get close to kissing Jason?" I inquired, trying to change the topic.

"Oh no you don't, missy. You are going to tell me why you and Blue didn't kiss. It is rare for boys to be so confident, so you should be using it. Why didn't you kiss?" she demanded. I made no sound. She Narrowed her eyes. "Annabeth, tell me why you and Blue did not kiss." Her voice was like honey. She was so confident, what reason did I have to not tell her? She obviously thought I should explain it to her. She was a good friend, I should tell her everything. The charm in her words washed over me.

"I sneezed," I revealed. She blinked.

"What?" she asked, bewildered.

"I was really wet and cold, so when I went to kiss him, I- Wait, why am I telling you this?!" I exclaimed, as bewildered as Piper.

"I wanted to know, so I told you to tell me, and you did." She shrugged.

"I-you-my willpower?-speak-what?" I stammered. An imaginary light bulb went off in my head. She must have charmspeak! It was a rare ability for children of Aphrodite. They literally used their speech to charm people into doing whatever the demigod wanted. It could be very powerful.

Piper laughed at me and I laughed with her. I'd explain everything when she came to camp, which we had agreed she would do after this Paris shoot.

My laugh turned into a yawn, and the charmspeaker quickly decided I should sleep, and I easily complied, submitting myself to Hypnos.

~o0o~

When I woke up, it was seven o'clock. It had stopped raining, and I had many messages on my phone. The first was from Piper, saying that she and Penny had gone to dinner in the hotel's restaurant. They would bring me something up if I wanted. I quickly replied accepting the offer. One message was a voicemail from my dad, probably to check on me. I would call him later.

The last five messages were all from Blue, saying how he was sorry we got caught in the rain, and hoped I was okay. The last one blatantly stated that he wanted to see me again, when I felt better. I excitedly responded, informing him that I was better now and would love to see him.

While I awaited his reply, I took a swig of nectar from my canteen and sat down with a book. Soon Piper and Penny arrived back with food. Penny made sure I was alright, then left to go to her room. Piper stayed with me as I ate, and told me how Jason was amazing, yada yada yada.

My phone buzzed, interrupting Piper describing the scar above Jason's lip. I just knew where talking about his lips would lead, so I was quite glad for the distraction. I checked the phone. It read: "Great! I'll meet you outside your hotel at 8." I looked at my clock. It was seven thirty.

"Piper! I'm supposed to meet Blue at eight!" I shrieked. Said person had been looking at me curiously, but now she jumped up.

"Let's get you ready!" she exclaimed.

We picked out an outfit. It was warm but stylish. I added a scarf just in case. I switched out my contacts, which had still been in, and Piper applied a bit of make up. She also braided my hair down my back. I was out the door at eight.

"And finish what you started!" Piper yelled to me as she closed the door. I needed no questions to know what she meant.

Blue was not outside the hotel. I checked my phone (which I had made sure to bring). it was 8:05. Then 8:15. I was about to call him when I heard someone running and panting. My hand went to my thigh, were my knife was concealed. I looked up, alert, but it was just Blue.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted. "I," pant, "got," pant, "delayed."

"It's fine," I assured him. In the fading light he sparkled a bit, but that was probably just my imagination. The movement of his hand putting something in his pocket distracted me, and then he was smiling.

"Let's get going, then." He spotted my scarf. "Ah, perfect! A blindfold! May I?" He held out his hand graciously, and I offered him my scarf. I trusted him to blindfold me. Worst case, I could defend myself, even if I was blindfolded.

"You better not bump me into anything," I threatened as he started to lead me forward.

"Don't worry, I won't," he promised. He shifted so both he was almost hugging me from behind, but his hands rested on my arms. My body was happy to be in his arms again.

"Thank you for earlier," I said. His mouth was surprisingly close to my ear when he responded.

"Thanks for what?" he asked, surprised. "You nearly had hypothermia!"

"I didn't have hypothermia, but thanks fro the concern. It also was not your fault that we got stuck in the rain. You didn't have any control over it." He stayed silent for a while.

"Well, I'm relieving the guilt I feel right now," he decided.

"Fine. Where are we going, anyway?" I asked.

"No no, Anna. That is why there is a blindfold."

"My scarf," I interrupted.

"Blindfold," he insisted. "It is so you do not know where we are going." I saw the futility in arguing and stayed silent for the rest of our walk. It became brighter as we walked, but since the sun was almost down, we must have been approaching a lot of artificial lights.

Finally, Blue stopped.

"Ta da!" he called, pulling off the blindfold. I gasped. In front of us stood the Eiffel Tower, lit up by hundreds of light bulbs. The tower stood out against the dark sky, and the lines were still apparent, even by night. The bulbs cast a fake daylight over the whole scene, lending a kind of magic to the whole affair. I turned to look at Blue and his face was still darkened, but I could see a boyish grin.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"You're beautiful," he said, looking at me. My breath caught, and fro the second time today I found myself contemplating our first kiss. "Wow, that was cheesy," Blue laughed, breaking me out of my reverie. "Cheesy, but true," he said earnestly. I smiled.

"Let's go." I tugged his hand over to a line. It went surprisingly quickly, and Blue purchased the tickets. I tried to buy my own, but he insisted.

"It is proper manners for the man to buy the lady a ticket," he said. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "Now before you start sprouting feminism lines, I totally agree with women's rights, but in this case, it is my pleasure to buy you a ticket." I was quiet after that.

We got in line for the elevator, and soon we reached the first and lowest tier. We exited the car and walked over to the railing. The view was breathtaking. And we were still pretty low.

I looked at Blue. "Race you to the next level," I challenged, then sprinted toward the stairs. He laughed and ran after me. I climbed and climbed and climbed. There seemed to be no end. The stairs were a wide corkscrew, and you could always see out of the stairwell because of the gaps between the supports. My legs felt slower and slower, until I was just walking and admiring the architecture.

To think that the original plan had been to make this magnificent tower temporary! I was so glad that the 1889 World's Fair had let it be. Gustave Eiffel and his company, the designers, deserved a round of applause.

Soon I could hear Blue behind me and I started to run again. This was some work out. I'd read that it was 300 steps from ground to first level, and another 300 from first to second level. I had to be there soon.

Sure enough, I reached the landing a short time after. I was breathing hard, but all those years at camp had me trained well. Blue reached the top too, panting hard. He leaned down, trying to catch his breath.

"Let's take the elevator, 'kay?" he managed. I laughed.

* * *

Turns out, you can't take the stairs to the tippy top, you had to take a little elevator. Fine by me, and definitely fine by Blue. We waited with the crowd until it was our turn and we rode the elevator to the top.

I couldn't believe the view. There was a walkway all the way around the top observation platform, and little windows offered information on the tower. We walked all the way around slowly, admiring the 360 views of Paris. The Seine could be distinguished from all the other lights of the buildings below, and I traced it with my eyes as far as I could see. with the dark outside, and the views, and the company… All I can say is it felt like magic. I had this tingly feeling in my stomach, just thinking about all of this. The warm summer air smelled fresh and clean, and the small breeze on the ground was magnified 906 feet above. It can only be described as magical.

I walked up to the railing. Chain link fence covered the whole viewing area, and for good reason. The railing alone wouldn't protect you _that_ much. Blue came up beside me. I smiled up at him, knowing my feelings were plainly written on my face.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here," I whispered. "This all is just positively magical." That was the only word that came to mind.

"That just made it all worth it," he said, grinning.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm not a fan either, and being this far up in the sky…" he trailed off.

"It's ok," I soothed. "Here." I boldly grabbed his hand to comfort him. He turned to me, and I turned to him. He lifted his hand to brush a piece of hair from my face. Then his fingers traced down my cheek, leaving a trail of hot fire where they touched. I was finding it hard to breathe. I looked into his eyes, sparkling more than they had this morning. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him to kiss me. His hand rested on my cheek, and I reached my free hand to it, holding it against my face. He leaned in, and I leaned in, and I prayed to the gods that I wouldn't sneeze.

And then our lips touched. Just lightly, and it felt so right. I moved my hand to his cheek, then slid it down to his neck. He pressed his lips against mine a little harder, and I was over the moon. It was a simple kiss, just on the lips, but it had my heart racing like a Kentucky Derby winner.

We parted after a bit, and I smiled at him, my hand now on his shoulder. I kind of wanted to do more, but it was our first kiss and I wasn't going to go crazy.

"I've been waiting so long to do that," he murmured, his smile matching mine. I blushed but didn't look away. I shivered from the breeze and he pulled me close. "We don't want you getting sick," he whispered in my ear. "Then I wouldn't be able to kiss you."

"I'd find a way," I whispered back. He kissed my ear, and a chill went down my spine. He wrapped his arms around me, and I put mine around his neck. And up there, on top of the Eiffel Tower, we kissed again. It was less nervous this time, not our first kiss but still new. he pulled away quickly and kissed me again, and again, light, fast kisses. I laughed and held his head in my hands, stopping him. Then I kissed him, a long kiss.

We stayed that way for a while, deepening the kiss. It was exciting and delightful. Blue's hand found it's way into my hair, and this all just felt so perfect. When we pulled away, we stood by the railing, his arm over my shoulders, mine around his waist. I leaned my head against his shoulder and took in the perfect beauty around me.

As we left, we kept holding hands. I couldn't help but think that this was the best place to start dating someone. Oh, yeah. Blue had officially asked me to be his girlfriend in the elevator. I had said yes, of course, and everyone had 'awwwed.' Embarrassing, but adorable and memorable.

Before leaving me at the hotel, Blue had pulled me into the shadows at the edge of a street light and kissed me good night. It was an amazing kiss, deep and slow. I didn't really want to say good night after, but I gave him another quick kiss and promised to see him in the morning. Now how to actually go to sleep...

~o0o~

When I woke up, I was smiling. As I readied myself for the day, I was smiling. My clothes matched without much thought, there were no seeds in my orange, and the elevator opened right as we pressed the button. As I walked out the hotel doors, I was smiling. Piper noticed, and seemed to understand completely.

"No funny business, you two," was all she had said. I knew she would question me about it later once my buzz wore off. If it ever would. I'm not so sure.

Even being false-efied was okay. The whole time I thought of Blue, and the hair irons seemed less hot, the make up brushes less pointy, and the clothes less tight. I was even able to wear flats instead of heels.

So my morning started out well. After a break we were going to do more couples shots, but as of now we did not know who those couples would be.

I had decided not to dwell on my ignorance and enjoy the fifteen minute break while I could. My day had been going spectacularly, and who was to say that Blue wouldn't be my partner later?

However, things change. To quote Thalia, "When a Greek maiden is picking flowers in a meadow, something bad is going to happen." I guess I'd been picking flowers all morning.

I stepped onto a porch enclosed in a courtyard at the back of the building. I was wearing another long gown, this time a shocking red, and it was getting very stuffy inside the set room. The French air wafted around me, bringing the scents of summer and city. I heard some footsteps behind me, and assumed more models were joining me in the cooler air. When I heard the voice, I grinned.

"So you are doing this shoot," Blue's voice said.

"Yep," I replied, starting to turn. Before I could, hands fell on my arms, how he had led me to the Eiffel Tower last night, lightly restraining me. Out of habit I tensed, ready to deflect an attack or make a move myself. Blue chuckled.

"Annabeth, you're so tense! Calm down." I started to relax, and soaked in the feel of the hands on my arms. The wind blew in my face now, and the only thing I could feel of Blue was his hands.

"I was hoping you would be my partner later," I commented.

"I'd love to! Then we could hang out after. I really enjoyed last night." There was barely contained excitement in his voice, and I loosened completely. Last night had been wonderful.

"I would be delighted," I assured him. "Now, I have seen the other guy models in their get ups. Let me see you." The guys had it worse than girls, with ruffled shirts and buckled shoes. I was waiting to see what Blue looked like, although he was probably just as good-looking as normal.

"But, Annabeth," he whined. "This position is so comfortable."

I froze.

I'd never told Blue my real name.

* * *

**A/N: Ooooh! Cliffy! Any guesses to what is going on? **

**It was so fun to write this chapter, I actually started writing and thought, "This would be a perfect end." So I needed to rewrite a lot of the beginning. I really like the end though, which I wrote first :P At least Percabeth is kind of together!**

**I also hope the Eiffel Tower conveyed the feelings I wanted it to. I get this (good) feeling in my stomach when I remember that trip, it was almost midnight and the staff almost didn't let us up to the top!**

**Woohoo! 5345 words! That's a record! I'm so happy right now….**

**annie-bell: You were my first reviewer! Thank you sooooo much for reviewing again after a hiatus!**

**Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thank you for your so very continued support. You have reviewed the most out of anybody, and I really look forward to your reviews. Thank you very much for your encouragement, I had a few finals that I did really well on, so I'm very happy :) May I ask, what made you decide to change to content of your reviews? Your first reviews were short, whereas now they have much more in them. Thanks again!**

**KPA: I intend to keep writing, I enjoy it so much! Thank you for taking the time to review my story :)**

**Knight-Em: It's killing me too. Every time I almost write Percy and then have to change it to Blue just makes me want to get Percabeth together already! Thank you so much for your review, I hope this chapter meets your expectations!**

**Thanks to everyone for reading! I really hope you enjoy this story. It doesn't take much time or effort to tell me, just one minute! The littlest bit helps! **

**Thanks again :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO.**

**Shout-out to ****lovecheer13** **for predicting what happens next!**

* * *

Chapter 11

"_But, Annabeth," he whined. "This position is so comfortable."_

_I froze. _

_I'd never told Blue my real name._

I remember one day that Chiron had been teaching my cabin what to do in the case of a surprise attack. There are many ways to respond based on what kind of surprise. For example, if it is an ambush, you'd want to find a defendable area and take out as many as possible before either escaping, getting help, or killing all the monsters. If the monsters sneak up behind you, you obviously need to get them in front of you and fight them. If they surprise you enough to take someone hostage, your goal is to ultimately save your ally before the monster can harm them.

If a monster is already close to you, though, your biggest chance of surviving the encounter is surprising the monster back. The best way to do this when deceit is used, I'd determined, is to continue the ruse. Pretend nothing is wrong, then BAM! Stab 'em in the gut.

However, I did not know if there was a monster behind me. My monster-sense was tingling again, and a sense of foreboding was running through me. Forcing myself to be calm, I ran through all the possibilities of how Blue could know my name. Piper could've slipped up. He could have seen a document with my real name. I could have slipped up. But most importantly, I couldn't blindly stab whoever -or whatever- was behind me.

I assessed my situation. It sounded like Blue, but Blue should not know that my name is actually Annabeth. I could only feel hands and the wind was blowing so I couldn't catch a scent. Blue might not actually be at this shoot, and the only insurance I had that it was Blue was the voice.

Voice.

Monster.

Deceit.

Cyclops.

All of this rushed through my head in a second, thanks to Athena's heritage. I tried to fight it, but a panic blew through me. Suddenly I was seven again, in a dark, confusing house. Luke and Thalia were nowhere to be found, and my dad was calling me. Calling me. Thalia and Luke, my protectors, were tied up, defenseless. A Cyclops was standing there. It was going to kill us. All of us.

My mind rushed on, past the resolution of the Cyclops problem, and on to the aftermath. The monsters were closer. Gaining on us. Only because Thalia's scent was so powerful. Was that a crime? Punishable by death? Grover said we were close. But not close enough. Too far. Too steep. Too scared. Thalia decided. Decided to stop. I didn't want her to. Neither did Luke. Or Grover. But she did. We stopped with her. Fought together. More people, in armor, came. They helped. The monsters were killed. Not before I saw one camper die. Many wounded.

I was seven. Traumatized. But I was tough. I made it through. Thalia, Luke, and Grover were okay. But I had witnessed that battle. The Battle of Half-Blood Hill. All because of that Cyclops.

If a Cyclops was behind me, _touching my arms_, I was going to have a heart attack.

_Calm, Annabeth_, I told myself. I forced myself back to what the monster had just said.

"This position _is_ comfortable," I responded, forcing a laugh.

"Exactly. We still have ten minutes of break. Why should we waste it?" the voice offered. I almost gagged. A monster was flirting with me. I pushed my vocal chords to giggle.

"Why should we, indeed?" I said flirtatiously. Gaw, I think I'm gonna puke. I damn well deserve an Oscar for this performance.

"Let's go inside," the voice whispered in my ear. It sounded so much like Blue, but now I was sure it wasn't. Blue would never be so blunt about something he was so obviously nervous about last night.

"Or we could stay here," I suggested casually.

"No, inside."

"Outside."

"Inside."

"Outside," I pressed. This wasn't Blue. No way.

"Fine," Blue's voice growled. The hands whirled me around and I saw its face. It towered over me, at least seven feet. One ugly, bloodshot eye glared at me from the middle of a greasy, gross forehead. "We'll play out here then."

I wiggled out of its grasp, cursing my dress and blessing the flat shoes. I, in a very unladylike manner, hiked up my dress and grasped my knife. For a millisecond I wished I had that pen/sword thing I'd seen Chiron with one day. Much easier. Couldn't do anything about that now though. I pulled out my dagger and spun to face the Cyclops. His (I'd decided it was a he) eye darkened and he started advancing on me.

"You'll be so delicious," he crooned disgustingly. "Imported food. They say France has it good, but Americans, yum." He licked his lips and gave me a view of his horrible tongue.

"All the food has made you stupid, if you think you're gonna eat me," I responded. "Oh, wait, you already were stupid." I gave him a glare I reserved for monsters only. He winced a little.

"A shame you won't comply. I guess you aren't the typical American fast food." He still had Blue's voice, and it was so wrong to hear that voice with that body and saying those things. Before I could focus too much on the fact that he was a Cyclops, I lunged in.

My knife was quick, but the monster pulled out a club and caught my dagger on it. I wrenched it free and struck again, then again, only to have him dodge me charged at me, and I stepped to the side, thrusting my blade out, like a bullfighter and his cloth. Unfortunately, the Cyclops stopped before hitting the knife.

Using his attempt to regain his footing as extra time, I sprinted around him and to his other side, darting my knife down. It was going to be a direct hit to the gut, but I heard a voice.

"Please, no!" It was Blue, but it was the Cyclops, but it sounded like Blue. However, the hesitancy that came from the shock of thinking I was about to stab my boyfriend was enough to allow the giant to turn sideways. My knife continued its downward descent, and the good-for-nothing Cyclops helped me down. I rolled away before his club bashed into my head.

I tried to leap up, but my foot caught on my dress and I was down again. The club was on its way towards my head, and all I could do was hold up my hand. However, hold up my hand I did, angling it so that the club hit mostly on my dagger and was deflected to the side. It still hurt though. I continued rolling, the monster's club swings not giving me time to try to rise again. This continued, roll and swing, roll again and swing, us locked in some horrendous game of Whack-a-Mole.

His club scraped my arm and I knew I couldn't last long. I rolled sideways and knocked into his feet, hoping to set him off balance. It worked. I jumped up, careful of the skirt of my dress, and assumed a fighting stance. We circled each other until he lunged in. I avoided him, but he cornered me at the edge of the patio. It occurred to me that I was lucky someone hadn't come out to the patio yet, but then I remembered my situation and decided I wasn't lucky.

"Where are they?" the monster growled. He was using his own voice now, thank the gods.

"Where are who?" I asked, confused, but willing to let him keep talking. As long as it didn't mean attacking me.

"The other one. I can smell more of you, powerful ones, and I want a multi-meal," he explained. He must be talking about Piper! I had to protect her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied haughtily.

"Oh, I'm sure you do." He sneered at me. "How about you scream a little to get your friends here?" He tried to whack me with his club, but I blocked. I stayed silent, knowing anyone inside would come outside if they heard me. Right into this monster's trap. "Is that how it is? Then maybe I'll just call them for you." I gasped. He was going to use my voice against me! He grinned maliciously.

The Cyclops turned around to call through the doors. He was pretty smart, for a Cyclops, but too dumb to realize that turning your back on an armed demigod was a bad idea. Without a second thought, I leaped onto his shoulders, focused only on stopping this monster before my friends got hurt too. I stopped thinking that he was a Cyclops. I stopped listening. I just jumped, plunging my knife into his exposed neck.

With one surprised 'Oh' from One-Eye over here, his form turned to dust and I fell with it to the ground. I quickly stood up, brushing the golden sand from my clothes. The wind quickly scattered the evidence of the kill, but it was easy to see that I'd been rolling around on the ground. Luckily the skirt was just wrinkled, but the sleeves had some of my blood on it, and no telling what my hair looked like.

Suddenly I heard, "Anna?" I collapsed to the ground. His voice. How could that Cyclops be so evil? He took something I loved, Blue's voice, and turned it into something horrible. "Anna? Are you out there? Break is almost over," Blue called out to the courtyard. If I wasn't so upset, I would've been overjoyed that Blue was doing this shoot today.

He stepped out the doors. "Oh, there you are. I was sure I would find you here…" he trailed off, confusion and concern showing on his face. "Anna, what happened?"

He rushed to me, but I scooted away. He tried to hug me, but all I could feel were that Cyclops' hands. He tried to look me in the eyes, yet I could only see one.

"Anna, talk to me," he insisted.

"No," I gasped. His voice was echoing in my mind. He grabbed my shoulders and I squirmed, but he held tighter.

"What happened?" he demanded, his voice gentle yet completely stubborn. I shook my head. Two could play this game. Besides, the feel of his hands was starting to come through. His scent of the ocean was calming, but I had no idea what to tell him. _Oh, yeah, Blue, a Cyclops just attacked me because my mom is Athena, the Greek goddess. _Because that would go down well.

He sighed, and I expected him to run his hand over his hair, a habit I'd noticed of his, but he didn't take his hands off my shoulders. He looked at me, and I could imagine what he saw. A weak, vulnerable, hysterical girl in a dirty dress, makeup smeared and hair crazy.

Yet I didn't see any negative emotions in his once again dull eyes. I squinted, trying to see into his thoughts right now. Then he leaned down and kissed me. I was surprised, but it was not unpleasant at all. After a little while I kissed back fervently. His lips and arms offered a security I needed right now, and I was not letting go. I put my hands on either side of his face, assuring my mind that this was Blue, not some hungry monster.

I could feel both our breaths running out, and I raced to come up with a plausible story. It was kind of hard to think rationally when you're lips are on someone else's though. As he pulled away, I forced on a look of how I would look after he kissed me (which wasn't that hard) to hide my racing mind. I scrolled through what Blue knew about me and how to use it. I finally found something with our second meeting.

"What happened?" my boyfriend asked again softly. I shut my eyes. I was lying to him again.

"There was a dog," I started. Realization dawned on him after a moment. He put his arm around my shoulders and held me close. "It came out of nowhere. I was scared, but tried to stay calm. Then it attacked me." Substitute a Cyclops for a dog, and the truth is plain.

"I can see that," he commented. He lightly touched the scratches on my arm. I winced. I would have to get some ambrosia for that. "How did you get it away? And why didn't you call for help?"

"I hit it with a stick." I grinned, feeling a bunch better.

"Another stick! How about that, Sandwich Girl?" he laughed and I joined, remembering our first day together.

"You better believe it, Fish Brain," I countered. He smiled but still looked worried.

"But Anna, why didn't you yell or something?" Oh, because the monster would have eaten you.

"I didn't want any of my friends becoming targets for the dog either," I said instead. He kissed my cheek. I think it caught on fire.

"Thank you," he told me sincerely, looking me in the eyes. "But you don't have to be a hero." Ah, you see, yes I do. "With more people, we could have chased off the dog. If something like that happens again, I want to help you, okay?"

"Okay," I responded, and leaned in to kiss him again. I couldn't get enough of the feel of his lips. He kissed me back tenderly and then stood up. He offered me his hand and I stood up.

"C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up before the pictures, partner."

"Really? We're partners?" I asked, delighted.

"Yep! Milady." He bowed, offering his arm towards the door to inside.

"Thank you, Sir Knight." I curtsied and took the proffered arm, walking inside.

**~o0o~**

The next day was our last day in Paris. Blue had left that morning, and we would leave tomorrow morning. I'd like to say that I lived my life without him, but the truth is I missed him sorely.

We'd spent the afternoon after the shoot together, walking and talking and kissing. We promised to stay in touch, though I explained that at my summer camp we weren't allowed phones.

"I'll contact you when I can," I'd promised. He didn't live too far away from Camp Half-Blood, and I was hoping we might visit sometime. At the hotel, we'd had one last goodbye kiss, though it wasn't goodbye forever, thank the gods. The touch of his lips lingered on my skin the rest of the night.

Piper noticed my sulking, but she was down in the dumps too since Jason had left. I finally couldn't take it anymore and dragged us both out into the sunshine. I walked, not really sure where I was headed. Eventually we made it to the River Seine. Since it cuts the city in half, we had to make it there sometime.

Piper and I sat on a bench overlooking the shimmering water.

"It sucks to have boyfriends that leave, doesn't it?" I pondered. Piper sighed.

"Yeah."

"Aha!" I yelled, jumping up. "You are going out! I knew it!" Piper looked like she was about to protest but decided against it.

"Yeah, we are, once I finally got the dope to kiss me," Piper recalled joyfully. I sat back down and she told me the whole story of their first kiss. They were so cute.

Eventually the conversation turned to camp. She would be returning with me. I was almost 100% positive that she was a daughter of Aphrodite, and I was excited to have her at camp. One thing bothered me though.

"Piper?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Would you mind, if, well, if you didn't mention the modeling?" She turned to me.

"I won't, I don't like to tell people I model either. They immediately get all these bad stereotypes stuck in their heads," she shared.

"Exactly! I mean, I guess some of it is true, but I have a reputation at camp, and modeling would tarnish that," I explained, laying my thoughts out.

"Perfectly understandable," she nodded. "You say nothing about my background and I say nothing about this. Deal?" She held out her hand playfully.

"Deal." I firmly shook her hand. Now all that's left to figure out is Percy.

**~o0o~**

Back at the hotel, I set about straightening my thoughts, as I had planned to do the whole trip. I made a pros and cons list, weighed the options, pondered the whole thing. I small voice said I was over-complicating things, but I shut it up.

My thoughts went something like this: Percy was sweet, kind, and impulsive, but so far that hadn't interfered with anything. He was brave, that's for sure, and undeniably attractive. He was powerful as well, being a son of Poseidon. That was a problem. Poseidon and Athena aren't supposed to mix. He also had a temper, but I could be easily angered too. He was sensitive and loyal, at least to his mother, and messy in an adorable way. But I couldn't think like that, because another factor was now in play. I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend that I knew would be very loyal to me, and I should be the same. So no lovesick thoughts about Percy. No siree.

Yet there was still this pull to him, a pull only comparable to the one I felt for Blue. That didn't matter, though. No matter what sort of feeling I had, Blue's pull on me had been officialized first. There was no turning back on that.

_Not that you gave Percy a chance for that_, that small voice whispered.

_I only knew him for a few days!_ I excused myself.

_But you ran away,_ the voice reminded me.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that now, is there?" I yelled out loud. Piper looked at me strangely from where she was sitting, but didn't say anything. Gods bless her.

At the end of my brown study, I only knew one thing for sure: If I was going to become close to Percy in any way, shape, or form, it had to stay friendly.

* * *

**Last chapter in Paris! :'( Actually, I had planned to end Paris in Chp 10 but that didn't happen. **

**If anyone feels that Annabeth or Percy are too OOC, I will explain. I'm taking an "If this continues..." approach, so some emotions and experiences are heightened since events in the series never happened to calm them, like Annabeth meeting Tyson and all that to get over her aversion to Cyclops.**

**I will not respond to reviews in my A/Ns now because it was getting to long for my taste, but I will PM you. If I don't, feel free to yell at me ;) If anyone prefers to have a response in the chapter, let me know. Overall, THANK YOU to all my marvelous reviewers, allthough you are all probably tired of hearing me say thanks. Not that I'll stop (Thank you).**

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